Mar 22, 2014 10:31 AM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Syracuse University has recently announced increases for undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board for the next academic school year, The Post-Standard reported.

The University's Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees approved costs for the 2014-15 academic year as proposed by the University administration.

The full-time undergraduate tuition will be $40,380, an increase of 3.6 percent.  Current undergraduate tuition for the current 2013-14 school year is $38,970. This hike represents the lowest percentage increase in tuition at the University in 48 years, according to school officials.

Room and Board will also increase by 2.9 percent and 3 percent, depending on the room and meal plan chosen.

"The University has taken significant steps during the past five years to significantly slow the growth rate of tuition," school officials announced in a statement.

The undergraduate tuition increase in 2009-10 was 4.5 percent and the rate has consistently been reduced since that time. The 2014-15 rate of 3.6 percent matches last year's rate and is the lowest rate of increase since 1966.

The 2014-15 year will also include the highest level "ever" of financial aid funded by Syracuse University for undergraduate students, $222 million, a 3.7 increase from the current academic year.

The tuition-setting process began in fall 2013, university officials said in a press release, prior to Chancellor Kent Syverud assuming office

Syverud has indicated that next year he will engage and consult with University student leaders throughout the full tuition-setting process and timeline.

Syracuse University has been identified by U.S. News & World Report as a best value private university when considering academic quality and net cost. It was also named a 2014 "Best Value College" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

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