2012-13 Tuition: A Letter from President Lawrence

Dear SLC Students and Families,

For the 2012-13 academic year, our Board of Trustees has approved an overall increase of 3.49% in undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board combined. Undergraduate tuition for next year will be $45,900. For students living in college housing, the typical room charge will be $9,324, and the cost of our most frequently selected meal plan will be $4,520. The general student fee will be $812, and the student activity fee set by SLC's Student Senate remains $212. Financial aid packages for returning students currently on aid will be adjusted, as necessary, to reflect these new charges.

In setting tuition and other charges for next year, the Trustees and College leadership continue to be sensitive to the difficult economic environment confronted by so many of our students and their families. Keeping our cost increases low without jeopardizing the distinctive educational experience that defines SLC—small seminars, conference work that engages students directly with devoted faculty, donning, and study stressing cross-disciplinary, integrative and critical thinking—is a great challenge. This year's increase in tuition—a modest one in comparison with most of our peers—ensures that we can continue to provide an unparalleled opportunity for students to acquire the knowledge, intellectual agility and creative drive to thrive in an age of rapid and sustained evolution in virtually all areas of scholarly, artistic and economic endeavor.  Keeping our annual increase at 3.5% or less—which we've done this year and for the previous three years—has required significant cost-saving measures on our part. Yet even with that self-imposed cap, the College has increased its commitment to undergraduate grant aid by nearly 70% since 2008-09—a commitment we intend to sustain through our long-term fundraising efforts.

In safeguarding the academic vitality of Sarah Lawrence, I want to assure you that we haven't forsaken the quality of our campus environment. There's no question of the need to provide students with the facilities and resources to collaborate and interact socially as well as academically, and to that end, we will continue room renovation in Hill House, Rothschild, and Westlands residence halls. Hill House also will receive a new, high-efficiency furnace to improve climate control during the winter months. Sections of Andrews Court, the Library, Bates and some of the Meadway houses will benefit from improved roofing and drainage. Plans are in development to renovate much of the exteriors of the four original SLC residence halls dating back to the 1920's and 1930's:  Gilbert, Titsworth, Dudley Lawrence and MacCracken. The Common Ground and Meeting Room in the Bates student center will receive new, energy-efficient windows to improve the ambient environment in those spaces. Finally, and of the greatest importance, we continue to extend and improve fire suppression systems throughout our residence halls for the safety of our entire community.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the faculty and staff of the College, thank you for being part of the Sarah Lawrence family and epitomizing the value of an SLC education.

Sincerely,

Karen R. Lawrence
President, Sarah Lawrence College