Tuition fees in Mexico City on the rise
09 Apr 2010
The first semester of 2010 started with an increase in tuition fees based on the inflation rate. Most universities adjusted their tuition fees upwards by 4%.
Private universities in the Mexico City metropolitan area will apply a 3 to 4% adjustment on the tuition fees for bachelor’s degrees this year. For example, at the Mexico City campus of Tec de Monterrey students pay 4% more than in 2009. Officials from the university explain that the tuition fee is usually adjusted each semester, but in the summer of 2009 this adjustment was not applied because of the effects of the economic crisis in Mexico.
Normally the rector and board of directors decide on the adjustment, depending on the historical inflation rate, the predictions of the inflation rate, the growth of the GNP and projects run by the Tec de Monterrey. The increase each semester is necessary to keep the lecturers and the installations up-to-date in order to maintain the current level of quality.
Universidad Anahuac del Norte also calculates its increase using the inflation rate. This means there will be a 3% increase this year. Spokespersons from this institutions state that these adjustments are necessary to maintain the quality of education, but that they are always looking to reduce the effect on the student family’s financial situation.
In ITAM, the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, the increase has been set to 3.69%. The adjustment is each semester at this university also and it is again based on the historical inflation rate.
All three universities do continue with their own scholarship and financing programmes for their students.
Other universities, like the Universidad Panamericana, have decided to hold off on a possible increase in their tuition fee until May, after a thorough revision of the inflation rate. The Universidad Panamericana saw its last increase in tuition fees in 2008, when it went up by 6%.
The increases that private universities apply to their tuition fees for bachelor’s programmes are usually lower than the inflation rate
| University | Fee in 2009 (pesos) | Increase (%) |
Fee in 2010 (pesos) | Fee in 2010 (euros)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tec de Monterrey |
65,680 | 4 |
68,310 |
4,150.76 |
| ITAM | 48,840 | 3.69 |
50,642 |
3,077.19 |
| U. Anáhuac |
46,620 |
3 |
48,018 |
2,917.75 |
| Unitec |
24,400 |
0.85 |
24,600 |
1,494.79 |
| U. Panamericana |
65,605 |
0 |
65,605 |
3,986.40 |
* Notes:
1. Tuition fees are per semester
2. Exchange rate 1 euro = 16.46 Mexican pesos, 9 April 2010
Source: Reforma – Universitarios supplement, January 2010
Note: This news item was previously published in the Nuffic Neso e-Newsletter. Click here to subscribe.