A List
2/21/04

ST. LAWRENCE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SETS FEES FOR 2004-2005

CANTON – In order to maintain its excellent educational experience for students 
and to help replace decreased endowment income resulting from the recent depressed 
investment markets, St. Lawrence University's comprehensive fee will increase 
by 6.4 percent for next year. The University's Board of Trustees set the fees 
at its winter meeting, held February 21 on campus.
	The Board approved an increase in the annual comprehensive fee from 
$35,740 to $38,025. The components will increase as follows:

                       2003-2004               2004-2005

 Tuition               $27,985                 $30,270
 Room                    4,170                   4,170
 Board                   3,585                   3,585

 Total                 $35,740                 $38,025

 	St. Lawrence University has several sources of revenue for annual 
operating expenses: tuition; room and board charges; funds from New York State; 
project grants from federal and state agencies as well as corporations and 
foundations; annual gifts from alumni, parents and friends; revenues from 
"auxiliary enterprises" such as the Brewer Bookstore; and, very importantly, 
income from the University's endowment, a long-term investment fund.
      Endowment income represents approximately 12 percent of the annual 
operating budget of the University, and its endowment market value has only 
just begun to recover, as is the case with most colleges and universities. 
St. Lawrence calculates endowment income based on the market value of the 
endowment over the past three years, when the economy has seen two years of 
steep decline. That condition is resulting in reduced endowment income for 
the coming year, estimated to be a loss of about $700,000 in next year's budget.
	The University uses endowment income primarily to support the costs of 
its core educational mission. Therefore, the decision to raise tuition, which 
funds the educational program directly, while holding room and board charges 
constant, will help to offset the lack of growth in endowment income.
	University President Daniel F. Sullivan stated, "We are very sensitive 
to the potential hardship this comprehensive fee increase will cause students 
and their families, but we are also aware of the expectations students and 
their families have with regard to continuation of our programs and activities 
at a very high level, even during and just after an economic recession. We 
are committed to making sure a St. Lawrence education is fully worth the 
investment students and their families are making. Further, we remain committed 
to ensuring that a St. Lawrence education is accessible to the students who 
will most benefit from it, including those from our own North Country region."
	St. Lawrence's comprehensive fee increased 5 percent in 2003.

-30-

Back To News Releases
Back to St. Lawrence Homepage