Board of Trustees Approves 2023-2024 Operating Budget Including Tuition and Fees

The Board of Trustees of Loyola University Chicago has approved the University’s 2023-2024 operating budget. The budget sets the undergraduate tuition for the upcoming academic year at $50,270, a 4.5% ($2,170) increase. Tuition for graduate and professional programs will increase up to 4.3%. The University will self-fund an additional $15 million in financial assistance to students, a 5.5% increase from the current year. This will increase Loyola’s overall University financial aid to over $280 million next year. 

The student activity fee and our all-access meal plans will increase between 4% and 4.5%. There will be no increase to the student technology fee. With pre-pandemic demand for on-campus housing by our undergraduate students, our residence hall rates will re-calibrate to rates for single, double, and now shared triple accommodations. These rates will remain very competitive with other Chicago universities as well as the residential market near our campuses. The complete schedule of tuition, fees, and room and board rates for the coming academic year can be found at: www.LUC.edu/bursar/tuitionfees. 

This has been an especially challenging year for all of us. Record inflation, a red-hot job market, and rising operating costs have all contributed to financial stresses we have not seen in decades. We recognize that your family is experiencing those same stresses–which is why the Loyola leadership team worked especially hard over the past several months to remove all non-essential non-student facing expenses from our operating budget in order to keep the coming year’s tuition increase as low as possible. In addition, we remain committed to assisting any student and family whose financial circumstances have significantly changed. We encourage you to contact our financial aid team to review options and aid programs facilitated through their office. 

The pandemic had a significant impact on our on-campus operations, and as we emerge, we have carefully restored operating expenses to the areas of greatest need and not summarily replaced positions or operating expenses to where they were previously. This has allowed us to strategically redeploy over $40 million in resources to where they are most needed to serve our students. While the tuition increase next year is larger than in recent years, it holds to our commitment to not increase tuition in any given year more than 1.5% of the average increase from the past 10 years, which has been 3.6%.  

The 2023-2024 operating budget continues our commitment to support our students at all levels both inside and outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, the new budget begins a multi-year investment in the recruitment of new faculty to support cutting edge teaching and research across multiple disciplines. Outside the classroom, new investments in technology, student advising, student wellness and mental health support make up a significant portion of our increased expenses. 

On behalf of our president, Dr. Mark C. Reed, and the entire Board of Trustees, I want to express my deep appreciation to you for your confidence in us to deliver the very best transformative Jesuit education at Loyola University Chicago. We are committed to ensuring that your investment is sound and will provide a lifetime of returns after graduation. 

I am happy to personally address any questions you may have. My email address is wmagdzi@luc.edu.

Sincerely, 

Wayne Magdziarz 
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Business Officer