La Salle U. freezes tuition

La Salle University, which has faced declining enrollment and financial struggles in the last year, announced a freeze on tuition for students in 2016-17.

Tuition will remain at $41,100 for next year, President Colleen M. Hanycz said in a letter to students and parents.
'We understand and share your concerns about the rising cost of college education, and continue to seek ways to contain costs without sacrificing educational quality and student success," Hanycz said in the letter.

Room and board rates, however, will rise 4 percent, to $15,070, Hanycz said. Asked about fees, La Salle spokeswoman Jaine Lucas said "no information has been provided on fees."

Hanycz noted in her letter that parents and students would get more information in the coming weeks.
Freshman enrollment at La Salle fell from 867 in 2014 to 725 in 2015. The college last year faced a deficit equivalent to 10 percent of its operating budget, and laid off 23 employees while offering buyouts to about the same number of people.

The university recently offered buyouts to older faculty, and announced it would terminate its 33 janitorial employees on Feb. 29 and outsource the service.

La Salle also recently announced it would add varsity water polo and women's golf to help attract more students to the Catholic university, based in Philadelphia.

The university also last fall began a process of reviewing all of its offerings - academic and nonacademic - to determine which should be maintained, upgraded or eliminated and what may need to be added.

Recommendations are expected to go to the president and then the board of trustees later this year.