Emory's Board of Trustees has approved a 4.1 percent increase in the total tuition, fees, and room and board cost for undergraduates enrolled in Emory College of Arts and Sciences for 2012-2013.

At its Feb. 9 meeting, the board increased Emory College's current undergraduate tuition from $40,600 to $42,400 and its combined undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board to $54,980.

"Emory continues to invest in our students and faculty by concentrating our resources on academic excellence and by increasing our philanthropic initiatives in support of our students," says Earl Lewis, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. "While Emory's student charges are consistent with our peers, we are ever mindful of the financial impact of any tuition increase on our students and their families."

Emory College practices need-blind admissions in order to attract the most qualified and deserving students regardless of their background and economic circumstances. Two out of three Emory College of Arts and Sciences students receive approximately $121million in financial aid annually.

Emory also invests in Emory Advantage, one of the nation's most competitive programs of financial aid and loan capping, designed to make an Emory education affordable and accessible to the nation's best students regardless of family income.

Emory is consistently identified as a best value among private universities and colleges—those institutions that are both academically strong and affordable. Currently ranked 13th in the country by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance as a best value among private universities, it was also named a "Best Value College" by the Princeton Review this week in its list of the top 75 private schools selected on the basis of their excellent academics, financial aid and cost of attendance.