Colleges boost 2011-12 tuition

HARRISBURG - A 7.5 percent tuition increase approved Thursday by the board that governs Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities will cost full-time resident students an additional $436 for the 2011-12 academic year, largely because of state aid cuts.

The increases for resident students will push annual tuition from $5,804 to $6,240. The State System of Higher Education board also increased the technology fee that all students pay by $116 a year, to $348.

Of the 120,000 students enrolled at system campuses, nearly 106,000 are Pennsylvania residents.

Out-of-state students, who pay as much as 21/2 times more in tuition than in-state students, will generally pay the same 7.5 percent increase. At West Chester University, for example, annual nonresident tuition will increase from $14,510 to $15,600.

Gov. Corbett originally called for a reduction of more than 50 percent in appropriations for the state universities and four state-related schools - Pennsylvania State, Temple, and Lincoln Universities and the University of Pittsburgh - as part of his plan for erasing a multibillion-dollar deficit for the fiscal year that starts Friday.

Students and faculty members joined in demonstrations against the cuts, and the legislature trimmed those reductions to less than 20 percent in the budget bill that received final approval Wednesday night.

Even with the increased tuition and fees, which together are expected to generate $79 million, chancellor John Cavanaugh said, the system faces a $33 million deficit. He said system officials are focusing on expanding online instruction, which is the fastest growing mode of instruction, and made clear that layoffs are among the money-saving options that will be considered.

"Above all, we must keep tuition affordable for our students and their families," he said.