NEW YORK -- The Cornell Board of Trustees approved a plan for the 2007-08 university budget that calls for a 5.5 percent tuition increase in the university's endowed colleges, while holding the line on fees and maintaining open access for a diverse student body.

Meeting at Weill Cornell Medical College on Jan. 26, the trustees also re-elected Peter C. Meinig '61, BME '62, as board chairman for three more years. A total of 50 trustees present cast a unanimous ballot for Meinig and for the tuition increase.

Overall, the cost of room and board, tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate students at Cornell in the endowed colleges will rise by 5.1 percent to $45,971 from $43,707 in the 2006-07 academic year. The increases will keep Cornell competitive with the university's peer institutions.

For the 2007-08 academic year, tuition for Cornell's endowed undergraduates is being set at $34,600, up from $32,800. Average undergraduate room fees will increase by 4.5 percent to $6,680; the full dining plan will increase by 4 percent to $4,510; but there will be no increase in mandatory student fees.

"We affirm our commitment to maintaining access to a diverse student body by ensuring that financial aid for those in need is augmented commensurate with increases in tuition, room and board," said Cornell Provost Carolyn (Biddy) Martin. "Cornell will be increasing tuition to ensure a quality student experience, which includes the hiring and retention of the best faculty. The costs of providing the best educational opportunity for our students and remaining competitive continue to grow rapidly. Tuition and fees cover only a portion of the total cost of educating students."

Meinig has been a member of the board of trustees since 1991and became chairman July 1, 2002. In re-electing him chairman for a further three-year term, effective July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2010, the board also extended his term as a trustee through June 30, 2011.

However, he will not be able to serve a third term as chairman because his term must conclude at the end of the fiscal year in which he turns age 70, which is 2010. The bylaws will also prevent him from serving as a trustee beyond the end of the fiscal year in which he turns 73, which will be 2013.

While voting for the tuition increase, the board also assured that the university will continue to maintain its long-standing need-blind admissions policy. Some 54 percent of undergraduate students at Cornell received Cornell-administered, need-based financial aid for the current academic year. Consistent with the university's commitment to increased access, applications for undergraduate admissions to Cornell rose by 7.5 percent this year compared with a year ago, and by 45 percent compared with 2004. Applications are up across all racial and ethnic groups, said Doris Davis, associate provost for admissions and enrollment.

The board-approved planning parameters also call for tuition increases for the 2006-07 academic year for undergraduate students enrolled in the university's contract colleges: a 5.8 percent increase for New York state-resident students, to $19,110; and a 5.7 percent increase for nonresident students, to $33,500.

There will be no increase in Graduate School tuition, which remains at $32,800 for the endowed colleges and $20,800 for the contract colleges. "We are looking at ways to effectively compete in attracting graduate students as well as the critical external sponsored-research funding necessary to support graduate education in many of our academic disciplines," said Carolyn Ainslie, vice president for planning and budget.

Cornell Law School and the Johnson School tuition rates continue to be multitiered to protect current students from large increases while maintaining tuition rates for entering students at levels comparable with peer institutions.

Ithaca-campus professional school tuitions and other fees for 2006-07 approved by the trustees are:

Consultation with the State University of New York trustees will take place before tuition for the contract colleges are finalized.

The board also approved a change in the designation of the two student-elected trustee positions. The student trustees -- one undergraduate and one graduate student -- will now be elected in alternating years, for a four-year trial period. At the end of that time (fall 2010), the new process will be evaluated.