From the building boom to tuition costs, increase is a trend Belmont students are getting used to. Undergraduate tuition for the 2012-13 academic year will be $24,900, a 4.75 percent increase from the 2011-2012 tuition. This percentage of increase — which comes to $1,130 for the next year — is the lowest in several academic years. Last year’s bump was 5.5 percent. “Like public and private institutions everywhere, we are facing the reality of rising cost,” President Bob Fisher

As college tuition rates skyrocket across the country, it is no surprise that students are feeling the strain of higher education costs. Tuition has increased an average of 5.6 percent each year beyond the general inflation rate during the last ten years, according to the College Board. As the cost of college continues to rise, many students are forced to go deeper into student debt. College graduates of 2010 graduated with a record level of student loan debt – an average of

Belmont, feeling the pinch of the recent economic recession, will combat mounting costs by raising its tuition 5.5 percent this fall, bringing it to $11,885 per semester for fulltime undergrads. The change is a $620 spike over the 2010-11 cost, and there will be a similar percentage of increase in dorm and meal plan costs beginning fall 2011. But what’s happening at Belmont is not unusual; tuition and fees are increasing around the country at both public and private schools.