RALEIGH — William Peace University will freeze tuition for next year, after lowering students’ bills this year.

Officials announced Monday that the private university formerly known as Peace College will keep tuition at $23,700 for the 2013-14 academic year. This year, students at William Peace are paying 7.73 percent less than last year, when the university took the unusual action of lowering tuition.

The university’s trustee board is still reviewing room and board charges for next year, a spokeswoman said. Currently, room fees are $6,186 and food charges are $2,814.

This is the first year male students have been admitted as students to the former women’s college. The decrease in tuition may have helped draw student interest; enrollment climbed 9 percent, to 791 students.

William Peace is bucking the trend of ever-higher tuition at public and private colleges. A report last month from the College Board showed the national average tuition at private colleges and universities rose by 4.2 percent, to $29,056, in 2012-13. Nearly one-third of the first-year class at William Peace is male this year.

The university announcement said the action was partly possible because of cost savings in other areas, including a reduction in the cost of the university’s print guide for prospective students and a water conservation project involving a cistern that will capture rainwater for irrigation.

“Affordability, accessibility and accountability have been the three guiding principles William Peace University has emphasized in recent years and will continue to support in the future,” Debra M. Townsley, president of the university, said in a statement.

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