The University Board of Trustees approved a measure last Friday that will raise costs for undergraduate students in all of the endowed colleges by 4.4 percent. This will increase overall cost including room, board, tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate students in the university’s endowed colleges from $50,114 to $52,316.

Tuition for undergraduate students in the university’s endowed colleges will increase by 4.5 percent, from $37,750 to $39,450. This same dollar increase of $1,700 was approved for resident students in the state-supported colleges, making the percent increase for resident students in the state supported colleges a much higher increase of 7.9 percent. The tuition for non-state residents enrolled in Cornell’s land grant colleges will equal the increase for students in the endowed colleges and will be set at the same price of $39,450.

The Development Steering Committee of the Board of Trustees, which met in New York City, also raised the average undergraduate price tag of room and board by 4 percent from $12,160 to $12,650. Despite the increases in undergraduate tuition and overall cost, the board did not raise tuition for the University’s graduate research students.

This tuition increase comes at a time when colleges and universities across the nation are raising tuition in the wake of decreased endowments and funding cuts after the recent recession. Most notably, the University of California system will face a 32-percent tuition hike which was approved last fall.