Tuition freeze proposed at YSU

3`By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — For the first time in nine years, undergraduate students who live in Ohio and attend Youngstown State University won’t be facing a tuition increase with the start of fall classes.

Nonresident undergraduate and graduate students will be in a different situation, based on a proposal before the YSU Board of Trustees. Both are facing some cost increases.

The university has raised the undergraduate cost of going to class nine consecutive times, but a promise of additional state funding in exchange for no tuition increase for two years for resident undergrads has the board of trustees looking at no tuition increase for 2007-08 for that group, which represents about 90 percent of the student enrollment.

What will happen

There is a proposed $12 per semester increase for all full-time students in the “general fees” category to cover rising costs of operating the Andrews Wellness Center on campus.

About 90 percent of the employees there are students and a recent state increase in the minimum wage raised their salaries, said Neal McNally, director of budget planning and resource analysis. Part of the general fees go toward maintaining that facility, he said, adding that such fees, which cover certain noninstructional costs, are exempt from the tuition cap.

Although the state budget isn’t final yet and the numbers could change somewhat, YSU is relying on the Senate version of the state spending plan, which will provide YSU with about $2.9 million in additional funds next year in exchange for a promise not to raise tuition for two years for Ohio undergrads.

The tuition and mandatory fee totals for full-time Ohio undergraduates will rise a total of $24 a year from $6,697 to $6,721.

For nonresident, full-time undergrads, a 3 percent increase in their tuition surcharge is being proposed, raising that cost from $2,753 to $2,836 per semester.

Graduate costs

Resident graduate students will see a $516 annual increase in tuition and mandatory fees, from $8,212 to $8,728.

Nonresident graduate students will get a break on their tuition surcharge, which is being lowered by more than $2,800 a year for regional students and some $5,600 a year for nonregional students in an effort to attract more graduate students to campus.

“Regional” covers an area along the Pennsylvania border from New York to West Virginia.

The 1,000 students living on campus will also see a $250 increase in room and board, based on a proposal before the trustees. The annual cost would rise from $6,490 to $6,740 a year.

The proposed 2007-08 general fund budget stands at $140.8 million, up $3.3 million from the modified version of this year’s spending plan. The bulk of that increase will come from the anticipated $2.9 million jump in state subsidies.

The trustees are scheduled to vote on the tuition and budget issues at a June 29 meeting.

gwin@vindy.com