At its meeting in New York City Friday, Jan. 23, the Cornell University Board of Trustees approved a set of planning parameters for the 2004-05 budget that calls for a 4.8 percent tuition increase for most students in the endowed colleges.

The 4.8 percent increase sets tuition for Cornell's endowed undergraduate and Graduate School students at $30,000 for the 2004-05 academic year. Currently, the tuition is $28,630.

The approved planning parameters also call for increases for contract college students, although state-mandated consultation with State University of New York (SUNY) trustees will take place before those increases are finalized. For planning purposes they include: a 9.4 percent tuition increase for undergraduate resident students in the contract colleges for the 2004-05 academic year; a 5.3 percent increase for nonresident contract college continuing students; a 10.1 percent increase for third- and fourth-year students; and a 10 percent increase for nonresident contract college entering students.

Those increases set tuition for contract college students at $15,870, $27,170, $26,058 and $28,400, respectively.

"While the economy has improved somewhat, Cornell continues to face significant financial pressure from declining state appropriations, small but still significant necessary decreases in endowment pay out, and the increasing costs of maintaining academic excellence in a competitive, fast-changing and costly technological environment," said Provost Biddy Martin. "We continue to try to keep tuition increases as low as possible by employing a number of strategies, including setting different levels of increases for new and continuing students. As always, we will adjust our institutional student financial-aid allocations to assist students and families with financial need."

Ithaca campus professional school tuition and other fees for 2004-05 approved by the trustees are:

• Johnson Graduate School of Management: Tuition was increased by 4.9 percent to $34,400. Summer tuition for the 12-month option was increased by 5 percent to $20,900. Two-year tuition for the Executive MBA program was increased by 4.7 percent to $107,600.

• Cornell Law School: Tuition for entering students was increased by 7 percent to $35,280. For continuing students, tuition increased 4.9 percent to $34,590 for second-year students and $34,430 for third-year students. For the one-year LL.M. program, tuition was increased by 9.5 percent to $36,100.

• Veterinary Medicine: Tuition for resident students was increased by 7.3 percent to $20,500. Tuition for nonresident students was increased by 7.4 percent to $29,000.

• Undergraduate student activity fees were increased to $167, as recommended by the Student Assembly.

• Graduate and professional student activity fees were increased to $62, as recommended by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly.

• Undergraduate housing rates (double room average) were increased by 3.5 percent to an average of $5,874.

• The full-plan dining contract was increased by 4 percent to $4,008.