The price of being a Billiken just got a little steeper.

Upon approval of Saint Louis University’s 2009 fiscal-year budget, President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., formally announced new rate increases in an e-mail to the SLU community on Jan. 9. In the e-mail, Biondi wrote that the new rates were “absolutely necessary to continue moving SLU forward.”

As a result, undergraduate tuition will rise 6.5 percent in the 2008-2009 school year, from $28,480 to $30,330.

Post-undergraduate students will also feel the strain, with medical school tuition rising 4 percent to $43,830 per year, annual law school tuition jumping 5 percent to $33,180 and graduate school prices increasing to $885 per credit hour.

In addition to the tuition hike, Biondi wrote that rates for housing are predicted to rise, on average, 3 percent, while meal-plan costs will increase by 4 percent, with the exception of the commuter meal plan, which will remain the same. The cost of parking will also increase by a currently undetermined amount.

A more detailed list of rates can be viewed at www.slu.edu/rates2009.xml.

Provost Joe Weixlmann, Ph.D., described the 6.5 percent increase as normal when compared to other Jesuit college increases.

“Our tuition after this increase will remain in the middle of the pack of Jesuit schools in terms of tuition,” he said. “We always try to keep the tuition increase as low as we can, while still [accomplishing] the other things we need to do . The balance is trying to keep tuition down while not sacrificing quality.”

The additional $9 million in the budget, funded through the rate increases, will be split between a number of different areas, including a new undergraduate health management degree and a new doctor of nursing practice degree. In addition, the money will make possible the creation of 15 to 20 new faculty positions, and further funding will be available for undergraduate research, students with disabilities and graduate students in Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology and the School of Social Work.

A portion of the money is also to be allotted for the purchase of more print and online library materials, a welcome idea to Assistant Provost for University Libraries Gail M. Staines, Ph.D. The library budget was “flat” for 10 years prior to her arrival at SLU two-and-a-half years ago, she said, despite the fact that costs for books and other materials were tripling.

“[An increased library budget] is a very positive thing for the library,” she said. “We’re able to take that money, use it wisely and expand access to more information for [the students].”

On the other hand, many students questioned the method by which the tuition increases were announced, including freshman Sarah Donigian, who was previously unaware of the rate changes.

“It just seemed like they were trying to sneak it in [by discussing it in the president’s monthly e-mail],” she said.

Donigian said that she would better understand the need for increased tuition if the reason for it were more clear, a sentiment shared by freshman Sapha Gopal. Gopal also said that though she would likely continue her education at SLU regardless of the cost, she knew of a number of other students who had been forced to leave due to high costs, something she predicted would happen to a greater extent next year.

To assist students in paying for their education, $6 million will be added to institutional aid, with $1 million of it targeting returning students specifically.Approximately 675 $1,500 need-based Magis Awards will be available for current students. Anyone interested must apply via the FAFSA form, due by March 1.

“If a student qualifies academically to be there and has high need, then we’re going to do the best job that we can to package them so that it is possible for them to come [to SLU],” Weixlmann said.

The process of determining the University’s budget in a fiscal year, which begins July 1, starts in October, when the President’s Coordinating Committee meets weekly to examine the budget and develop a recommendation to Biondi. Once the recommendation is approved, usually in November, the budget must go before the Board of Trustees in December before it becomes official. Once the Board of Trustees gives it the nod, it is formally announced to the University.