Room and board for next year will increase by $334 to $5,880, sparing students from higher-than-normal increases, President Blaine Brownell said.
Soon the fees will escalate more than normal, however, to pay for the "most significant effort to renovate" residence halls over the next 15 years, Brownell said.
"This recourse is neglecting the needs of the students of the future for the students of today," Brownell told members of the Board of Trustees, who approved the new fee 8-1.
The $334 increase is about 75 percent of last year's increase. The $5,880 will only maintain basic programs and replenish the university's reserves by about $7.5 million.
Any further increase, Brownell said, would be unfair to students and parents given the economic climate. The money, according to a press release, will cover the rising cost of employee health care, maintenance and inflationary increases in supplies and food.
Board member Karen Hood-Jacobs still questioned the rate's fairness, citing concerns similar to those she held when the board approved the $1,000 fee increase in September.
She questioned if Ball State wasn't providing too many luxuries at the risk of pricing potential students out of college. Such an action, she said, may tempt legislators to plant some kind of money cap on universities.
"Can we go down some other road to fund the projects without laying it on the back of parents and students?" Hood-Jacobs asked.
Brownell replied that he knew of no endowments or grants for room and board, and the state will not help pay for residence halls.
Board President Tom DeWeese said the university should not acquire a "hunker-down mentality" because of the slow economy, and board member Greg Schenkel said the board can only do so much to provide access to all students.
"I don't like raising tuition either," Schenkel said. "But I can only go so far. The access question of higher education is a state policy issue."
Even with the tuition increase, students will still pay less than they would by living off campus, said Alan Hargrave, director of housing and residence life.
In 2000, Ball State commissioned a study by Anderson/Strickler, a firm that helps universities create master plans. The firm's study showed that off-campus students pay about $6,500 in room and board.
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