Emerson is slated to increase the undergraduate tuition by 2.0 percent, and room and board charges by 2.0 percent for the 2022-23 academic year, according to a campus-wide email from college officials sent Thursday afternoon.
Interim President William Gilligan and Chairman of the Board Erik Alexander wrote the increase comes as the college continues to respond to the “challenges of the global pandemic.”
“Next year’s tuition and fees reflect the College’s anticipated continued investment in a safe and robust academic experience for students as we continue to emerge from the pandemic—as well as the acknowledgment that the pandemic created financial difficulties for many students and their families that continue to persist,” they wrote.
Emerson will offset the tuition adjustment for continuing undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need or changing financial circumstances, Gilligan wrote, and linked a financial aid webpage with options for students who need additional aid.
Gilligan also encouraged students who do not receive institutional aid to contact the Office of Financial Aid or the Office of Student Success should their situation require additional help.
Emerson’s trustees and senior leadership have “continued their commitment” to keep annual tuition increases as low as possible while simultaneously creating more financial aid opportunities, Gilligan wrote.
“This has been an ongoing challenge for College leaders given Emerson’s current reliance on tuition and fees for operating revenue; however, it remains a priority to ensure that the College is as affordable as possible for current and future students,” the email read.
The Board and senior leadership have been balancing the ongoing budgetary impact of the pandemic with the college’s operating and capital needs, and have also invested into people and programs to advance Emerson as the nation’s “premier institution of higher learning,” Gilligan wrote.
The correspondence listed several new initiatives Emerson had invested in, including the creation of Emerson’s Circle of Creative Scholar’s program and Access and Belonging functional area within the Office of Student Success to support a diverse community, a restructure of the Title IX Office and an increase in staff to support the community and a continuation of the Tuition Increase Offset Fund.
With high community COVID-19 booster and vaccination rates, Emerson has re-engaged with international travel with the resumption of the Kasteel Well program and has expanded in-person learning on the Boston campus, the email continued.
The email encouraged students to contact the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Student Success for support on continued enrollment or guidance on additional funding sources external to the college.
