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Youngstown State University Hikes Tuition by 9%
"YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- As anticipated, the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees Friday afternoon approved a 9% increase in tuition beginning fall semester, but said they would revisit the increase if the state doesn't decrease its allocation to the university for the next fiscal year. "It is never easy to increase tuition, and we do not take it lightly," said YSU President David C. Sweet. "However, it is important that we set tuition rates now to give students and their families as much time as possible to plan for the coming academic year and to take the necessary actions to maximize financial aid to assist with their expenses."Under the approved tuition plan, full-time, undergraduate residents of the state will pay $3,255 per semester next academic year, an increase of $313 from the current tuition rate. The 9% increase is broken down into three components: 6%, instructional fee; 2%, technology fee; 1%, need-based scholarships. Prior to the vote, state Sens. Marc Dann of Liberty and Robert Hagan of Youngstown sent a statement to area news outlets detailing their opposition to the proposed tuition hike. In a letter sent to Sweet and the board, Dann and Hagan called on YSU trustees to wait until the Legislature hears the state budget bill in February to decide whether they need to raise tuition.In the letter, the state senators say they understand YSU trustees' frustration with the failure of Gov. Bob Taft and the General Assembly "to provide sufficient support for higher education," but argue that the "self-destructive cycle of tuition hikes must be stopped." They said Senate Democrats plan to co-sponsor a bill to "hold universities harmless from funding reductions during a fiscal year if they keep tuition cost at or below inflation for that year."Included with the release was a copy of the letter Dann and Hagan sent to Sweet and the trustees along with a story from today's Columbus Dispatch. In the story, Dispatch writer Kathy Lynn Gray reports that tuition and fees at Ohio's four-year public universities run 46% higher than the national average, according to the annual Performance Report issued this week by the Ohio Board of Regents.YSU issued a news release earlier in the week, also citing the Performance Report, that noted that the university's full-time undergraduate tuition of $5,884 for the current academic year was well below the state average of $7,508 and ranked lowest among the state's 11 largest public universities. The Dispatch story reported that the average tuition in Ohio was higher than the national average by $1,376. Even with the increase, university officials say they expect YSU's tuition to remain the lowest in the state.Sweet noted that the Regents' report ranked YSU as one of the most cost-efficient universities in the state. He also said on average YSU provides more scholarships and grants than many other public universities in the state, with students on average paying only 46% of the stated tuition. Instructional subsidies from the state have dropped form $47 million in fiscal year 2000 to $40.5 million this year, the university president noted. The state's share of YSU's budget has dropped from 48% in 2000 to 35% in 2005. At the same time, YSU reports its enrollment is growing at a rate that is the highest among the state's 11 major public universities. Sweet said that Ohio's system of public universities is a partnership with the public, the legislature, students and their parents and Ohio's universities and colleges. "The connection between higher education and Ohio's future economic development is beyond dispute," he said. "By unilaterally reducing its support of higher education, the legislature has shifted the burden of sustaining the quality higher education necessary to the state's future to the other members of the partnership." Visit Youngstown State University at www.ysu.edu "