Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton responded to widespread unease over the rising cost of a Washington University education by assuring students that he is committed to keeping tuition hikes reasonable while maintaining high educational quality.

Despite a national trend of universities discontinuing funding for national merit scholarships, Washington University continues to fund students named with the distinction. New York University’s recent decision to stop funding the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) has incited a host of discussions amongst universities over whether it is practical to offer scholarships based on standardized test scores.

Although the U.S. Senate passed a resolution that will maintain Pell Grant funding for the 2011-2012 academic year, universities nationwide continue to be uneasy over the potential for future cuts to the program.

Starting in fall 2011, being a Residential Advisor (RA) will no longer jeopardize a student’s eligibility to receive financial aid. In an email to all RAs for the 2011-2012 school year, Associate Director of Residential Life Mary Elliott announced that the RAs will now be considered full employees of the Office of Residential Life.

Washington University received another commendation from a national review that accessed overall college experience. The Princeton Review awarded the University with a “best value distinction,” a title given to 50 private and 50 public universities based on 30 components categorized within three principal classifications: academics, cost of attendance, and financial aid factors.

The Obama administration proposed a budget plan that includes cuts of about $20 million from Pell grant federal funding.

Gov. Jay Nixon announced that the Missouri Department of Higher Education will increase scholarship amounts for students under the Access Missouri program for a combined total of about $58.7 million.

The tuition crisis is worsening as the fees for attending both public and private institutions continue to rise at a pace far exceeding the rate of inflation.

Over $67 million has been raised toward Washington University’s $150 million scholarship initiative, “Opening Doors to the Future,” which began in March of 2009. The scholarship drive was intended, in part, to keep financial aid stable after many students’ financial circumstances changed following the economic collapse of 2009.

Earlier this year, the Princeton Review ranked Washington University fourth in the nation for financial aid. The University received the Review’s highest possible score of 99, making it one of 13 colleges placed on the Review’s “2010 Financial Aid Rating Honor Roll.”