Tuition Increase for State System Schools Kept Around Inflation Rate
After the state budget kept funding level for the 14 state owned universities, the board of governors is keeping the tuition increase around the rate of inflation for the upcoming academic year.
Tuition will rise by 3%, marking the 5th time in the last 8 years the State System of Higher Education has held the increase at or below the rate of inflation. It means students will pay $188 more a year to attend classes at the schools.
Spokesman Kenn Marshall says the board and universities have worked hard to keep costs under control. He says they’ve made about 230 million dollars in cost savings over the last several years through a number of cost savings initiatives. Last year, tuition rose by 7.5% on the heels of an 18% reduction in state funding.
There will also be an increase in the technology fee; 10 dollars for resident students and 16 for out of state students. Other fees, such as room and board and meal plans, are set on a campus by campus basis.
Out of state students will also pay 3% more for tuition, but those rates vary from campus to campus and program to program.
Marshall says the Governor’s original budget proposal called for another 20% reduction in state funding. He says the system worked with the Governor and legislature over the last few months to get funding restored back to last year’s levels. He says without that, they would not have been able to hold tuition as low as they did.
