The Wartburg College Board of Regents has announced a historically low 2.6 percent increase in tuition, fees, room and board for the 2015-16 academic year — approximately four months earlier than previous such announcements.

“By setting our tuition rates in the fall, we hope to give our students and their families additional time to plan this year,” said President Darrel Colson.

In 2015-16 the full price for tuition and fees will be $37,190, a 2.96 percent increase from the current year. The cost of room and board will increase 1 percent, or $45 for most rooms and $45 for most board plans. A typical room and board charge will be $4,325 and $4,685 respectively.

“To partner with our students and their families in this educational investment, Wartburg each year awards nearly $40 million of need- and merit-based student financial aid to enrolled students,” said Edith Waldstein, vice president for enrollment management.

The 2.6 percent overall increase is the lowest by percentage in 25 years and the smallest by dollar in 13 years. The regents have asked college leaders to develop and bring forth plans to announce rate changes during the Fall Term into the foreseeable future, with the intent to hold annual increases under 4 percent.

Many private colleges and universities announce tuition changes in early spring to maximize time to plan for anticipated expenses. Wartburg’s regents and college leaders now are using a process that instead gives a four-month planning advantage to students and families.

“Though we’ve always considered the impact of our decisions on students and families, we now are giving that impact greater weight to allow our students and families more time to plan. We believe Wartburg is one of the earliest of private colleges and universities across the country to announce our fees for next year,” said Rich Seggerman, vice president for finance and administration.

In addition, the regents approved limited use of strategic funds to help restrain tuition increases.

Wartburg leaders regularly review the factors that influence a student’s decision to attend the college and work to ensure that students are a good fit academically and financially. Studying the data, including that collected as part of the college’s new “Worth It” marketing initiative, helped regents and college leaders move forward with these changes to continue to make Wartburg affordable to students and their families.

“Our research reaffirmed that affordability is one of the first things families consider when deciding on the long-term investment they will make in their child’s college education. Wartburg is making its own long-term investment to ensure that students continue to have access to the Wartburg educational experience,” Colson said.