Trustees: Tuition Up, Buildings Approved

Edifice complex: Pratt School of Engineering's $97-million, 320,000-square-foot teaching and research structure

At their annual winter board meeting in February, Duke trustees approved a 3.9 percent increase in tuition, fees, and room and board for students entering Trinity College of Arts and Sciences next fall. They also endorsed plans to build on the university's investments in financial aid for students, including foreign students.

Tuition and mandatory fees for entering Arts and Sciences students enrolled in Trinity College will be $27,844 for fiscal year 2002-03, up 4 percent from $26,768 for the current year. Eighty-five percent of Duke undergraduates are enrolled in Trinity College, with the balance in the Pratt School of Engineering. Undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at the Pratt School will be $27,844 next fall, also an increase of 4 percent over the current year. The total cost to attend Duke, including room and board, will be $35,765, an increase of 3.9 percent.

The trustees also approved tuition rates for Duke's graduate and professional schools. The largest jump was in the Graduate School, which will increase its combined tuition and registration fees in its Ph.D. programs by 10.8 percent, primarily to increase the resources available to fund competitive graduate awards. Most graduate students will see a corresponding increase in their fellowships as tuition levels rise. The Graduate School will implement an increase of 4.5 percent for master's degree students, who are generally not fully supported through competitive fellowships.

The tuition rates for 2002-03 for the graduate and professional schools are:

• Divinity School, $12,240, up 4.1 percent over the current year;
• Fuqua School of Business, $31,350 (daytime M.B.A. program), up 5.9 percent;
• Graduate School, $24,000 (Ph.D. programs), up 10.8 percent;
• Law School, $29,920, up 5.9 percent;
• Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, $21,300, up 3.6 percent;
• School of Medicine, $29,706, up 4 percent;
• School of Nursing, $23,256, up 4 percent.

The trustees' Buildings and Grounds Committee approved the design of a $97-million West Campus building complex that will more than double the Pratt School of Engineering's teaching and laboratory space, and that is meant to bridge the boundaries between research disciplines. The 320,000-square-foot structure, tentatively called the Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering and Applied Sciences (CIEAS), consists of west and east wings joined by a central court. It will be located at the north end of what is now the Divinity School parking lot and in a wooded area to the west. A portion of Science Drive will be closed; the area between engineering's Hudson Hall and the new building will form a pedestrian plaza.

The complex's west wing will house the Pratt School's new Fitzpatrick Center for Photonics and Communications Systems, and the larger east wing will house new interdisciplinary initiatives in biomedical engineering and materials sciences. About 45,000 square feet will be occupied by the School of Medicine, which is contributing to the construction cost.

The committee action was a key step on the road to the final construction go-ahead, expected at the board's May meeting. Groundbreaking is planned this spring, with the building expected to be completed in August 2004.

In other action, the board authorized the renovation of several student residence buildings in Kilgo Quadrangle on West Campus; gave final approval for the construction of a new 550-space parking garage to create more spaces for visitors to the Bryan Center, Duke Chapel, and Page Auditorium; and authorized the construction of a new $2-million, 4,500-square-foot building next to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions that will be used for presentations to prospective students as well as special events.