Northwestern tuition, fees to increase

EVANSTON, Ill., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Northwestern University is raising the cost of tuition and room and board for an undergraduate student at the Illinois school to nearly $50,000 a year.

The Big Ten university said Wednesday that undergraduate tuition will increase by 3.6 percent during the upcoming 2009-2010 school year, representing a change of $1,332 for a total of $38,088.

Undergraduate students can also expect to pay an additional $409 in room and board next school year. Northwestern is raising those fees by 3.6 percent to $11,703.

The room and board fees are based on double room residence and a 19-meal-per-week dining plan.

Northwestern President Henry S. Bienen indicated the increases were the result of the ongoing economic downturn as well as recent endowment losses by the private university.

But he assured undergraduates the fee increases marked the lowest possible increase the school could have implemented, adding Northwestern would offer additional scholarship funds.

"We were determined to keep our cost increases as low as possible despite recent losses to the endowment, given the current state of the economy," Bienen said.