Tuition hike of 6 percent comes with increased state money

Pitt’s board of trustees announced July 14 that Pitt undergraduates this year will faces… Pitt’s board of trustees announced July 14 that Pitt undergraduates this year will faces tuition increases, including a 6 percent increase for students who have completed at least one year at Pitt.

In the coming academic year, tuition for returning in-state students will climb to $9,130, increasing by $516, and tuition for out-of-state students will climb to $19,000, increasing by $1,074.

The new rates represent the lowest base tuition increase in several years for “continuing students,” a classification created in Pitt’s new two-tiered tuition structure. But tuition for first-time Pitt students, the other tier in the system, will escalate by $1,516 for those from Pennsylvania, putting the price tag at $10,130. Tuition for first-time students from outside of Pennsylvania will increase by an additional $1,574, reaching $19,500.

According to Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, rising tuition is an inevitable cost of Pitt’s improved quality and higher profile among universities.

“When you look at higher education in Pennsylvania, people are presented with a range of choices,” Nordenberg said. “More and more students are making the decision to receive their education at the University of Pittsburgh.”

The announcement comes on the heels of a 3.29 percent, or $5.4 million, increase in Pitt’s state appropriations for fiscal year 2005, bringing the appropriations to $168.9 million. The increase, while below Pitt’s budget request, reverses a trend of declining appropriations that began with the fiscal year 2002 budget.

In April, Nordenberg requested $184.4 million in funding from the state government, while Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell offered $167.1 million. At the time, Pitt officials predicted that students would see a 4 percent tuition increase if Nordenberg received his requested funds, and a 6 percent increase if Rendell had his way.

Recently, Rendell pressured the State System of Higher Education to scale back tuition hikes, citing increased state appropriations as justification for the request. Chancellor Nordenberg indicated that Pitt’s situation differs from the situation of universities in the state system.

“We do understand the desire of the governor to control tuition,” Nordenberg said. “The specific request is not one that was made to us.”

Arthur Ramicone, Pitt’s controller and vice president for budget, noted that the compensation for employees is Pitt’s largest expense, and he specifically mentioned health insurance as a rising cost. Costs of insurance and utilities, especially heating, are expected to rise as well.

When asked about the impact of higher tuition rates on students with moderate incomes, Nordenberg maintained that a Pitt education remains affordable.

“Education has long been viewed as the key to the American dream,” he said. “We want very much to keep education within the reach of middle-income students.”

He added that Pitt is “not an institution that’s standing still,” and that students could expect tuition to continue to increase in coming years.

Pitt students will nevertheless see a lower increase than Penn State University, where officials announced a 6.6 percent increase a week earlier, according to a July 10 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Penn State increase will raise main-campus tuition to $10,408 for the 2004-05 school year.

Last year, tuition at Pitt increased by 9.5 percent for all in-state students, regardless of their years in school. In-state students’ tuition was increased by 14 percent in 2002, 7.5 percent in 2001, and 5 percent in 2000.