$75 Million Deferred Maintenance Plan Approved by Georgetown University Board of Directors
WASHINGTON, DC – Georgetown University’s board of directors approved a five-year, $75-million deferred maintenance plan this week that triples the budget for such projects in the first year and increases the annual budget by 500 percent in year five.
The deferred maintenance plan is designed to improve the conditions of Georgetown’s existing infrastructure, including a focus on student residences, through a $50 million one-time addition and a phased increase in annual spending from $5 to $25 million over the next five years.
Vote of Confidence
Earlier this year two credit rating agencies (Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s) issued investment-grade ratings to Georgetown, indicating their confidence that the university will be thriving in 100 years and beyond.
With this vote of confidence, the board approved plans to issue more than $630 million in flexible bonds, generating new financial resources and lowering the costs of servicing debt.
Half of the bond authority will provide a long-term source of funding to invest in university priorities and will be repaid over the next century.
The new measures, combined with improved budgeting and financial planning, are expected to result in $35 million in year-over-year savings and new revenue by FY2024.
Campus Renovations
Capital projects approved for FY2020 include the completion of Cooper Field, with new locker rooms, showers, and toilets, as well as audio visual equipment for coaching and teaching. Kehoe Field will be restored on the roof of Yates Fieldhouse, with the latest generation artificial turf for student recreational use.
The board also supported repairs to the roofs of the student residence known as Alumni Square and renovation of all apartments in the Alumni Square West Building.
Student Financial Aid
Financial aid for 2019-2020, also approved by the board, will rise to an unprecedented $218 million.
One of only a handful of colleges and universities that maintains need-blind admission, and a meet-full-need financial aid policy for its undergraduates,
Georgetown meets the full need of eligible students—regardless of their ability to pay—through a combination of grants, work-study and loans.
2019-2020 Tuition
The board also approved increasing undergraduate tuition to $55,440 for 2019-2020. The total cost of attendance for undergraduate students will increase by 2.88 percent next year to $72,000, the lowest percentage increase at Georgetown University in the past five years. Starting next year, access to Yates Field House will also be included for all undergraduate students.
While Georgetown’s cost of attendance matches most of its peer institutions, the high cost of living in D.C., contributes to the higher attendance cost and is reflected in higher room and board rates.
Tuition and fees at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will rise 3.6 percent for the next academic year, with tuition at the School of Medicine rising by 2 percent. Georgetown Law tuition and fees for full-time J.D. students will increase by 3.7 percent.