Undergraduate tuition at the University of Notre Dame will increase 3.8 percent for the 2011-12 academic year to $41,417, the same rate of increase as last year, which was the lowest since 1960. With average room and board rates of $11,388, total student charges will be $52,805.
In a letter to parents and guardians of students returning for the next academic year, Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., wrote that the University remains concerned about the economy and appreciates the tremendous sacrifices that families make to attend Notre Dame. He wrote that Notre Dame pledged to “honor (their) commitment by providing an educational experience that is second to none and fully consistent with our Catholic values.”
Ongoing economic difficulties, he wrote, have prompted the University’s officers and trustees to focus on finding ways to contain costs and limit spending. Still, Father Jenkins wrote that the University aims to provide the transformative learning experience that the Notre Dame family has come to expect. He pointed to the success and satisfaction of Notre Dame graduates as a measure of the University’s performance.
At a time when many college students fail to complete their course of study in four years, he wrote, Notre Dame has one of the highest retention and graduation rates in the nation, with 96 percent of the University’s students graduating on time. Surveys find that the satisfaction level of Notre Dame alumni routinely ranks in the top three in the nation, and they are able to find career opportunities within a year or less of graduation.
Speaking of what makes Notre Dame unique, Father Jenkins said the University combines a pursuit of academic excellence with a mission informed by faith, an education infused with a moral vision, and inquiry in service to the highest ideals.