Room and board rates will jump about 4 percent for the 2014-15 academic year

For students living on campus for the 2014-15 academic year, room and board rates will jump about $200 extra each semester, after the Penn State Board of Trustees approved the increase at its March 7 meeting.

The 4.27 percent increase in the average room and board rate , which includes a standard double room and a level three meal plan, is slightly up from last years increase of 4.23 percent, Assistant Vice President for Housing, Food Services and Residence Life Stan Latta said.

What we are trying to do is make sure that we dont have any large spikes in our room and board increase, Latta said. We had a couple of increases in early 2008 and 2009 that were about 6.5 or 6.8 percent, but the last several years they have held pretty steady at 4 percent.

The new increase means students will pay $4,885 per semester for the average housing about $200 extra each semester to live on campus during the upcoming academic year.

Latta said the calculation was made by looking at next years additional expenses, which ran close to what the Consumer Price Index increase will be. Then, an additional 1.75 percent was factored in to help support a 10-year plan in which the university envisions renovating all of East and Pollock Halls at a rate of about two buildings per year.

At the last Board of Trustees meeting, Associate Vice President for Auxiliary and Business Services Gail Hurley said Housing, Food Services and Residence Life are auxiliary programs and are self-sustained enterprises of the university. Because they operate as one financial entity, the program does not get financial support from the university or the state, and therefore all of its funding comes from the student room and board dollar.

Latta said the increase is necessary because as steam rates, utility rates, food and transportation costs go up, all of those costs get passed onto Housing, Food Services and Residence Life. Those costs, along with the price to renovate and refurbish residence halls, are figured into the room and board rate for the following academic year, he said.

As a part of the 10-year plan, Latta said the program has three major renovation plans to help maintain competitiveness among off-campus housing.

These renovations include the installation of air conditioning, the creation of the wet cores that provide more privacy than regular bathrooms, the installment of wireless access to be completed by the end of May and the update of interior finishes that will include movable furniture, new flooring, paint and lighting, he said.

So far, Latta said the universitys previous 10-year plan to renovate South Halls, which will be finished in January 2015, has been a success among students.

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Room and board rates will jump about 4 percent for the 2014-15 academic year