CANTON – The cost to attend St. Lawrence University next year will be $57,900.

The SLU Board of Trustees Saturday approved a 3.7 percent increase in tuition and room and board for the upcoming academic year and reviewed updated plans for a new residence hall to be built near the center of campus.

The residence hall project is being supported by private gifts.

The university’s comprehensive fee for 2013-14 will be $57,900, an increase of $2,065. Tuition and fees will rise $1,640; room and board will go up $425.

The percentage increase is among the lowest at St. Lawrence in recent years and lower than last year’s national average.

“I appreciate everyone’s efforts to contain costs, conserve energy, and develop innovations that uphold our mission and excellent reputation,” St. Lawrence President William L. Fox said in an announcement to campus.

Most St. Lawrence students receive some form of financial aid. This past fall, more than 90 percent of the University’s undergraduates received support; about 88 percent received St. Lawrence gift aid.

The average total financial aid package, including grants and loans, was $33,600.

Among several recent academic program enhancements, the University launched the Sustainability Semester this January on a farm near the Canton campus. Participating students are learning about complex and challenging environmental issues through intensive study and hands-on experience.

St. Lawrence is continuing its New York City Semester, now in its third semester, and the First-Year Program in London, which had a successful launch this past fall.

At its meeting concluding Saturday, the Board also reviewed updated plans for the 150-bed residence hall that will be built on the road and parking lot between the Quad and the Noble Center.

The building will be sited closer to the south end of the lot so the entrance to the Gulick Theatre will remain visible from the Quad.

While designs are still being refined, the new building could include a café and may be heated and cooled by geothermal energy, depending on a feasibility study.

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and be completed by fall 2014.

The planned, approximately 45,000-square-foot residence hall is expected to be a mixed, 3- and 4-story building with meeting space in a glass bridge commons area that will connect the two sections of the building.

The project architect, McKinney & MacDonald Architects (formerly Sacco & McKinney), of Latham, N.Y., will continue to work closely with Residence Life, Facilities Operations and others on campus to refine the design of the building, including ensuring that the building fits the character of campus and that it maintains or enhances the views to other, significant buildings surrounding the Quad.

The general contractor, Northland Associates, of Liverpool, has worked on a number of campus projects over the years, including the Johnson Hall of Science, the Sullivan Student Center and the Peterson-Kermani Performance Hall.

Private gifts are being used to fund the project. The University has raised more than $4.3 million to pay for construction of the residence hall, which is expected to cost about $12 million.

The Class of 2013 kicked off the focused fundraising effort by pledging its senior class gift to support the project.

In addition to calling for a new residence hall, St. Lawrence’s Facilities Master Plan outlines a schedule for other improvements to facilities.

The University has plans for renovations and upgrades to other student residences to be completed before the fall 2013 semester.

For more information on the new residence hall, visit www.stlawu.edu/newreshall