FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Barbara K. Laskin
January 11, 2005
(651) 696-6203

Macalester College Trustees Approve Financial Aid Changes
Will be Implemented for Fall 2006 Incoming Students

St. Paul, Minn. - The Macalester College Board of Trustees has approved a resolution altering the way the college establishes and implements its financial aid budget. The change will involve applicants planning to enroll in the fall of 2006 and beyond and will not impact any current Macalester students.

Under the new policy, Macalester will set an annual financial aid budget, which it will then use to meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students. Up until now, Macalester's commitment to need-blind admissions for domestic, non-transfer students has meant that the aid component in the budget has continued to grow without any of the limits placed on other budget priorities such as academic programs and salaries for faculty and staff. At more than 47 percent, Macalester's "tuition discount rate" for incoming students ranks among the highest of all premier liberal arts colleges in the country. The tuition discount rate is the percentage of tuition students do not pay.

Admissions decisions for incoming students will be made in a way that complies with the tuition revenue budget. The vast majority of domestic applicants will still be considered on a need-blind basis, and Macalester will continue to admit a larger fraction of needy students than virtually all of the other selective liberal arts colleges and universities in the country. Currently, more than 70 percent of Macalester students receive need-based aid. With an annual budget cap, this number is expected to decrease slightly but still to remain well above the level at peer institutions.

Board Chair Mark A. Vander Ploeg said Macalester's historic commitment to access and diversity will continue. "Macalester remains committed to these values and will spend the necessary resources to make sure that our students who need financial aid are fully supported," he said.

In the months leading up to the vote by the Board of Trustees, alumni, students and others in the campus community were involved in numerous discussions of the college's financial aid and admissions policies.

"The groundwork is now in place for Macalester to establish an appropriate and responsible balance between the goals of access and quality," said Macalester President Brian C. Rosenberg. "We are strongly committed to serving an economically diverse student body and to delivering a college experience of the highest quality."

Macalester is a private, national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,845 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, diversity and civic engagement.
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