Temple's Board of Trustees voted to freeze base tuition for undergraduates and make available an additional $8 million in financial aid. "Rising student debt is one of the major issues facing this nation today. Temple is committed to being a national leader in the effort to offer an affordable quality education," said board Chairman Patrick J. O'Connor. Mandatory fees will remain the same at $295 per semester and base tuition will hold steady in most graduate programs. O'Connor added that Temple will launch a campaign to raise funds for student scholarships. "This is going to be an all-out effort," he said. "We are going to ask everyone who cares about the university to step up and take action. We need them to invest in our students."