Brown approves layoffs and tuition hike

Brown's free dining hall newspapers are safe from the university's budget cuts, but some staff jobs at the school are not: Trustees at a meeting of the university's corporation this past weekend decided to cut an unspecified number of jobs next year to make ends meet after a 27 percent drop in Brown's endowment, Providence Business News reported Monday. Brown laid off 31 employees last year.

The cost of attending Brown will also go up: undergraduates will pay $51,360 for the 2010-'11 academic year, a rise of 4.5 percent from $49,128 this year. The total cost includes tuition, room, board and other student fees.

And that's not all: Because tuition accounts for half of Brown's revenue every year, administrators are seeking to shore up the budget by admitting 30 transfer students next year, a higher number than usual.

Yale announced a 4.8 percent increase in total fees last week, bringing undergraduates' expenses up to $49,800 next year.