The Department of Residence will propose a 3.8 percent increase in next year’s residence hall room rate at Wednesday’s Board of Regents meeting.

The amount of increase for a student would be $128 to $230, depending on which building the student lives in, according to regents documents.

Barbara Boose, communications specialist for the Board of Regents, said the board will give preliminary considerations to residence hall rates at Wednesday’s meeting, but final approval won’t be given until the April 21 meeting.

Boose said university housing offers a wide range of living options. A double occupancy room with full board is currently $5,740; the university will propose the rate be increased to $5,958 for the 2004-05 academic year, she said.

“I think it does increase every year,” she said. “It increases differently for the different room options though.”

Greg Lee, associate director for administrative services of the Department of Residence, said the room and board rates need to increase yearly because of cost pressures and inflation.

“We try to find new and better ways of doing things more effectively and efficiently,” he said.

The rate increase last year was 7.75 percent for a double occupancy room, said John Shertzer, residence life coordinator for the Department of Residence.

Lee said annual rate increases should be an expectation for students.

“Generally students understand the Department of Residence is an enterprise, and they recognize housing and dining rates need to go up as costs increase,” he said.

Shertzer said the room and board rate increase will be reinvested into the residence hall system for operations and renovations.

The rate change also includes the cost for a one-time increase in Internet bandwidth for all residence halls, he said.

The Board of Regents is required to give residence hall students notice of rate increases within 30 days of the decision, Boose said.

Eric Peters, president of the Inter-Residence Hall Association, said IRHA approved the room and board increase because in the past, rates were higher.

“This year, with the economy going down and building projects on campus, we know it’s going to go up,” he said.

“It’s better to have it lower now instead of jacking it up higher later. It’s better to have slow increases.”

IRHA approved the additional bandwidth because Internet access had been exceptionally slow, he said.

Next year, with the second Union Drive suite building opening, more students will be using the same bandwidth, so it’s better to increase it now, Peters said.