The Ithaca College Board of Trustees approved an increase in tuition and room and board costs for the 2022–23 academic year at its October 2021 meeting.
The meeting was held from Oct. 20 to 22 on the college’s campus. The last time the board met in person was in February 2020 at its annual February meeting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board met via Zoom for its February 2021 meeting. In an email to the campus community Oct. 26, David Lissy ’87, chair of the board of trustees, and Interim President La Jerne Cornish, stated that the board discussed the changes in the total cost of attendance — which includes tuition, room and board.
For the 2022–23 academic year, the cost of attendance is set at $64,060 which is a 2.68% increase from the previous academic year. Included in the increase is a 3.25% increase in tuition. Previously, tuition was set at $46,611 but will now be $48,126 for the next academic year. There is also a 1% rise in room — $8,976 to $9,066 for a standard double room — and a 1% increase in board — from $6,800 to $6,868.
“Now and over the past several years, the board has focused on affordability, and the increases as well as those from recent years have been conservative within our comparative set of schools, while maintaining investments in the human and capital resources needed to ensure that our students are provided with the best possible learning environment,” the email said.
For the 2021–22 academic year, the Senior Leadership Team announced that the college would not be raising tuition, room and board because of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting families’ finances. Previously, tuition was raised 2.95% for the 2020–21 academic year. The total cost of attendance for that academic year was set at $62,457. For the 2019–20 academic year, the cost of tuition also rose by 2.95%.
The email also said the board will continue to ensure that families with financial need have access to resources in order to attend the college. More than 90% of students received institutional aid for the 2020–21 academic year, totaling over $122 million.
The board also held plenary sessions with various members of the campus community to discuss topics critical to the college. The sessions included strategic plan updates with Hayley Harris, vice president of Human Resources; value strategy and strategic pricing with Laurie Koehler, vice president for Marketing and Enrollment Strategy; financial sustainability with Tim Downs, vice president for Finance and Administration and chief financial officer; and mental health and student well-being with Rosanna Ferro, vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Life.
Additionally, the board received updates about curricular revision, the college’s graduate programs and creating a sustainable student-to-faculty ratio from interim provost Melanie Stein, associate provosts Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson and Brad Hougham and Christina Moylan, associate provost for graduate and professional studies. At the State of the College gathering Oct. 15, Stein discussed how the college hopes to raise the student-to-faculty ratio from 10.4-to-1 up to 11.5-to-1 to 12.1-to-1 range for the 2021–22 academic year.
Lissy and Cornish thanked community members who have shared their thoughts and perspectives with the board through celebrations, meetings and plenary sessions. The email also said the board was able to attend the Physician Assistant ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 21.
“The launch of this degree program, its diverse first cohort and its focus on rural and community health powerfully illustrates the promise of the college’s transformative strategic plan, Ithaca Forever, and the ways in which that plan positions IC for a successful future,” the email said.
Lastly, the email said the board formally recognized former president Shirley M. Collado, who is leaving the college at the end of the calendar year. Currently, Collado is the senior advisor to the interim president and board of trustees. Collado announced she was stepping down as president July 8 after having the shortest tenure — four years — of all nine of the college’s presidents.
“As Shirley prepares for her departure from Ithaca College at the end of this calendar year, the board and members of the college and Ithaca-area communities gathered to express gratitude for her leadership during a tumultuous time for IC, for being the driving force behind the creation of the strategic plan and for her incredible dedication to students,” the email said.
