Penn State seeking tuition hikes up to 4.9%

Tuition would increase by up to 4.9 percent at Pennsylvania State University under a proposed appropriation request to the state, approved Friday by the university's board of trustees, for the 2011-12 school year.

The university will ask for $17.2 million more from the state than the $347 million it received for the current school year.

Budget strains and the distressed economy make it uncertain whether the legislature and governor will grant the request. State leaders rejected Penn State's last request for an increase and kept the university's funding flat with the inclusion of $15.8 million in federal stimulus money.

Without more state funding, the university would have to consider further tuition increases as well as operating cuts, spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said.

If the increase is approved by the state, instate residents would face a 4.9 tuition hike at the main campus and a 2.9 percent increase at satellite campuses. Out-of-state students would see a 3.5 percent hike at State College and 2.9 percent increase at the other campuses.

The university said its fiscal proposal includes $17.3 million in cutbacks, including a 1 percent decrease in departmental funding that would yield $7.3 million in savings. The remaining $10 million would be identified later.

The proposal includes $37.2 million in pay raises and related benefits, and $34.8 million for increases in such benefits as health insurance and retirement.

Penn State president Graham Spanier said in a statement that the university has "limited control over many mandatory expenses such as health-care costs, retirement contributions, fuel and utility costs, insurance, and deferred maintenance."