Pa. state schools announce tuition increases

Temple University announced yesterday that it will stay with the 2.9 percent tuition increase trustees approved in April.

But the university said it might have to reexamine its tuition if the state adopts a budget that contains a proposed $21 million cut in funding for Temple.

Temple's tuition increase is smaller than the hikes of between 3.7 and 4.5 percent announced yesterday by Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the 14 state-system universities, including West Chester and Cheyney.

"We believe this is in the best interests of our students and their families, many of whom are facing extremely tough economic circumstances," Temple president Ann Weaver Hart said in a statement.

The trustees' executive committee signed off on the tuition during a special meeting late yesterday afternoon.

Temple's undergraduate tuition will increase from $10,858 to $11,174 for in-state students and from $19,878 to $20,454 for those who live out of state.

In the academic year just ended, Temple had an enrollment of 35,822, including 25,724 undergraduates.

Penn State, which previously released a two-tier tuition scenario depending on state funding, announced yesterday that it would implement the smaller hike because of promises of financial support from legislators in Harrisburg and Washington.

Penn State families will see increases ranging from 3.7 percent to 4.5 percent depending on the students' residency and campus location, the university announced. The trustees' executive committee is scheduled to meet today to ratify the decision.

Last week, Penn State said it might have to increase tuition as much as 9.8 percent, or a $1,280 jump for an in-state student at its main campus in State College.

The base rate for in-state freshmen and sophomores on Penn State's main campus was $13,014 in 2008-09.

On Tuesday, Penn State, Temple, and the commonwealth's two other state-related institutions learned that the U.S. Department of Education had ruled that Pennsylvania would have to resubmit its application for $42 million in stimulus funding for higher education because Gov. Rendell had excluded the state-related schools.

Pitt trustees yesterday announced a 4 percent increase in tuition for in-state students at its main campus.

The increase was lower than expected, but chancellor Mark Nordenberg warned of surcharges if state and federal funding cuts to the university are not restored.

With the increase, the tuition for in-state students in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences on the main campus will cost $13,344, up from $12,832. The price for an out-of-state student will rise 2.5 percent, from $22,480 to $23,042.

Pitt had 17,427 undergraduates and 10,135 graduate students on its main campus last academic year and an 6,923 on four regional campuses. In April, Pitt announced that it was freezing tuition for students at its regional campuses in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville.

The more than 112,000 students at the 14 universities in the state system will pay 3.7 percent more for tuition.

The board of governors of the State System of Higher Education yesterday unanimously approved increasing undergraduate tuition to $5,554 for in-state students. Those from out of state will pay $13,886.