PROVO — Rise and shout, pull your pocketbooks out. The cost to be a Cougar is going up.
Starting next fall, students at Brigham Young University will pay $45 more each semester for undergraduate classes, according to a new tuition schedule announced Monday.
The 2.9 percent increase means all freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors will pay $1,575 a semester.
But bank accounts of graduate students will be hit harder.
Next year's tuition for graduate students will be kicked up 3.1 percent, from $1,930 to $1,990.
And students at BYU's law school and master's of business programs will see a 6 percent increase. The bill each semester will come to $3,255, an increase of $185.
Undergraduate tuition for 2004 spring and summer terms, shorter than a semester, will rise by 3 percent, increasing from $765 to $788. Graduate students in the spring-summer terms will pay $995, a 3.1 percent boost.
The 30,000-student school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has increased undergraduate tuition an average of 5 percent over the past 10 years.
The announced increase, approved last week by BYU's Board of Trustees, which is made up of the church's top leaders, "is to keep up with the costs of operating the university," said Carri P. Jenkins, BYU's spokeswoman.
"We believe that through wise management we can keep our tuition costs at a lower-than-average level and yet continue to provide a quality education for our students," said Brad Farnsworth, BYU's administrative vice president.
Last year, for the first time in nearly 30 years, BYU did not increase tuition. BYU President Merrill J. Bateman said the university was being "sensitive" to families during sour economic times. Many families with children at BYU also support other children serving LDS missions, he said.
The LDS Church asks members to give 10 percent of their earnings to bankroll the various arms of the church, including BYU, BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii.
"These families are faithful tithe payers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose funds are the major revenue source for BYU's academic budget," Bateman said.
Tuition pays for about 30 percent of BYU's operations.
The remaining 70 percent is covered by the church.
Students who are not members of the LDS Church pay one-and-a-half times the listed rates, according to a long-standing policy.
BYU's public counterparts also are seeking tuition increases.
Utah's Board of Regents, which oversees the state's taxpayer-supported colleges and universities, wants a 4.5 percent tuition hike. State colleges and universities also can add to the 4.6 increase to meet specific needs on campuses.
E-mail: jeffh@desnews.com