Tuition at Lander University will increase by 3.15 percent for the 2012-2013 academic year. The increase, which is smaller than last year's 3.95 percent tuition hike, includes a $100 increase in fees which Lander's Board of Trustees approved last December for debt service on university construction and renovation projects.
As approved by the trustees, tuition for in-state undergraduate students will go up by $288 to $9,792 for the academic year beginning in September. Out-of-state students will pay tuition of $18,552, an increase of $576.
University president Daniel Ball said the tuition increase is in line with the recommendation of Sen. Hugh Leatherman, of Florence, to all state-assisted colleges and universities. Leatherman, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, based his recommendation on the higher education price index, an inflation rate specific to colleges and universities.
Glenda Ridgely, Lander's vice president for business and administration, said the largest portion of the tuition increase will pay for Lander's share of state-mandated increases in salaries as well as retirement and health benefits for faculty and staff.
In addition to higher tuition, Ridgely said fees for housing will go up by 5 percent and 4.5 percent for food service.
Chairman Ray Hunt said Lander's Board of Trustees takes raising tuition very seriously. "Tuition increases help offset rising costs for things out of our control plus reductions in state appropriations to colleges and universities."