After freezing tuition rates from the fall 2014 semester until now, Loyola will be increasing tuition next semester by two percent.

Tuition for the 2015-2016 school year will increase $355 per semester for full-time undergraduate students.

Roberta Kaskel, vice president of enrollment management, said that the Board of Trustees decided on the increase.

The University Budget Committee sends a recommendation regarding future tuition to the president, who then sends a final recommendation to the Board of Trustees, Kaskel said.

According to Kaskel, tuition is important in covering the many costs that keep Loyola running.

“Tuition is revenue that is applied directly to the cost of running the institution, allowing us to maintain high levels of instruction, improve academic facilities and provide robust co-curricular programming for students,” Kaskel said.

Kaskel said that Loyola hopes that administrators will work with students and families to manage the cost of their education.

“In 2014-2015, we held tuition steady in order to help our students manage better during very difficult economic times. As we looked at the need for a tuition increase this year, we were determined to keep the increase as modest and feasible. Our 2 percent increase remains less than the anticipated average increases throughout higher education,” Kaskel said.

According to the College Board, the average annual percentage increase of tuition for private, nonprofit four-year universities is 2.2 percent.

Michael Pashkevich, biology junior, said that if the tuition increase betters students’ education, then it is an idea worth pursuing.

“If Loyola is going to raise tuition, the university needs to ensure that students are aware of how they’re benefitting from this increase,” Pashkevich said.

Naasha Dotiwala, psychology and political science sophomore, said that she hopes the tuition increase will help reduce the university’s deficit, but she worries some students may have difficulty paying the increased rate.

“I understand the need to raise tuition, but I hope that the university department in charge of tuition billing will be a bit more understanding and helpful to students who may not be able to pay on time,” Dotiwala said.

Pashkevich said that with this increase in tuition, Loyola’s retention rate is likely to suffer.

“Loyola must remember, however, that for every raise in tuition, there is a greater chance that the university will retain fewer students,” Pashkevich said.