The Board of Trustees approved a plan to freeze tuition and increase student fees and housing costs for the 2026-2027 academic year. 

Transcript:

0:10: Welcome back to Chronicle Chronversations. 

 0:13: I’m your host, Kate Julianne Larroder. 

 0:16: Columbia’s board of trustees met on Monday, Nov. 17, and signed off on next year’s rates. 

 0:23: Tuition is staying put, no increase, but required fees in campus housing are going up a bit to cover rising operational costs. 

 0:33: We talked to students and faculty about the freeze. 

 0:37: Oh, it literally did just get announced 10 minutes ago. 

 0:40: That’s crazy. 

 0:42: Knowing that we are freezing it. 

 0:45: It’s taking weight off my shoulders just a little bit. 

 0:48: I think it’s going to help. 

 0:50: I think it’s very exciting for our present students that they’ll be sure of their financial situation for the next, however, many years. 

 1:01: I’m delighted by that, and it’ll also make us easier for new students to afford. 

 1:06: It’s great. 

 1:07: But I would think that’s a move in the right direction, yeah. 

 1:11: I think it would definitely be helpful because currently I work two jobs trying to keep afloat and I know that the school’s like really far in debt and it’d be helpful if they just keep tuition down while we’re. 

 1:27: Everyone is struggling right now. 

 1:28: So as someone who relies, primarily on scholarships, FAFSA, financial aid as a whole, this is definitely gonna help longevity wise to finish up degrees. 

 1:39: I know several students, were pretty, also in that same category that are leaning a lot on financial aid at the moment, so not having to kind of survey for other sources of scholarships or financial aid is gonna be big. 

 1:54: I’m Kate Julianne Larroder. 

 1:56: Thanks for listening. 

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