On March 16, DePaul announced that it was raising its tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year. Incoming freshman will now pay around $30,000, a more than 6 percent increase from the roughly $28,240 paid by incoming freshmen during the 2010-2011 academic year. Incoming freshmen to the Music and Theatre schools will be paying $32,000, as opposed to the $30,655 freshmen paid for the 2010-2011 year.Incoming full-time law students will be paying $41,240, rather than the $38,900 incoming law students paid this year.

In addition, the U-Pass fee, originally $71 for undergraduate and full-time graduate students, has gone up to $79.75 for incoming undergraduates and full-time graduate students, and from $100 for incoming full-time law students to $106.

According to the DePaul admissions page, which lists tuition rates as far back as 2006, tuition for undergraduate and graduate students has increased by several hundred dollars each academic year.

In an e-mail sent to students, the university offered no explanation as to why the tuition was raised so much, but did include contact information for the Office of Financial Aid, stating, “while DePaul works to maintain affordability for students by keeping tuition increases as low as possible, we also recognize that many students and families are experiencing financial hardship at this time.”

The e-mail did not indicate if the university was creating more opportunities for student financial aid.

More information regarding the current tuition rates can be found here.

More information on the past tuition rates can be found here.