Next year’s tuition rise will be proportionally the smallest in nearly a decade, and an extra $1 million will be added to Biola’s financial aid fund.

The good news for students came when the board of trustees’ approved in early January a two-pronged proposal from President Barry Corey and top Metzger administrators, who sought to alleviate the extra burden on students struggling financially. The board also approved the rest of next year’s budget, which includes expense cuts across the university.

Tuition will rise 5 percent next year, the smallest increase since 2001. Much of the decade has been marked with annual rises between 6 and 8 percent, according to finance department records. Next year’s increase is also the fourth smallest, percentage-wise, in 25 years — surpassed only by three roughly 4.5 percent increases between 1998 and 2002.

Metzger’s step toward lower tuition and more financial aid comes off as counterintuitive amid the dismal economic climate, which brought the failure of numerous major banks and businesses. The benefit to students comes at a price to the university, which made operational cuts throughout next year’s budget. A staff hiring freeze was also enacted in mid-November per Corey’s request, and is expected to stand until March.

Corey said the cuts and “belt-tightening” expressed in the new budget will also serve as a buffer against the possibility of stagnant or decreasing enrollment next year — a prospect confronting colleges and universities across the nation, as the number high school graduates level off from decades-long increases. The goal is to accumulate $4 million in savings, he said.

“We’re going to increasingly look for ways in which we can save; increasingly look for ways in which we can make Biola more affordable to our students,” Corey said. “The board is committed to that, I’m committed to that and the President’s Administrative Council is committed to that.”

Annual increases in tuition are normal for most colleges and universities. Payroll increases, coming from raises and new employees, are largely responsible, but operational and maintenance inflations also contribute.

Biola will spend an additional $4 million in labor costs next year, said Sandie Weaver, senior director of financial planning and operations, in an interview with The Chimes in August. Total labor costs accounted for more than half of the university’s $143 million budget last year, according to its most recent financial report.

“This is a large corporation to keep running,” said Carl Schreiber, vice president of financial affairs and information technology, in August. “Universities are very labor intensive.”

Every non-profit organization is required by law to have a board of trustees. Corey described Biola’s board as “the ultimate accountability” for the university in issues of major policy. He emphasized that the board makes decisions corporately, not individually — and that they aren’t paid.

“They don’t get any money for doing this. They’re all volunteers. They do this because they love Biola, they believe in the mission of this institution — and they get no remuneration whatsoever for what they’re doing,” he said.

The board’s gathering three weeks ago is among three held throughout the year. Meetings were spread throughout two days, and culminated with a public signing of Biola’s “Articles of Faith,” a book stating the university’s values and theological positions. The “Red Book,” as it is called for its bold color, has been signed by Biola leaders since the 1920s, and includes such names as T.C. Horton and Charles Fuller.

The ceremony was held in Calvary Chapel, and was the first-ever signing open to the public. Previous signings were informal and done individually, Corey said. Making it public was a statement of Biola’s commitment to its “biblical core” even into its second century, he said.

“For nearly 100 years the same book has been signed by the board,” he said. “One of the reasons why I think schools lose their sense of identity and directly become opportunistic is because they’ve stopped looking inward.”