Tuition freeze likely to stay

By Harold Gwin

Just how much money the state is offering is expected to be revealed Monday.

YOUNGSTOWN — The tuition freeze in effect at Youngstown State University for the past two years will likely be extended for a third year — if the state comes up with a promised increase in state aid.

“For the last two years, Ohio was the only state in the nation with no tuition increase at our public institutions,” Gov. Ted Strickland said in his State of the State address Wednesday. He pledged to continue that freeze for another year at the main campuses of the state’s universities and for two more years at community colleges and regional or branch campuses.

Chancellor Eric Fingerhut said the governor is committing sufficient funds to the universities and colleges to keep the freeze in place.

Just how much money that will be wasn’t revealed by the governor or chancellor, but is expected to be forthcoming in the governor’s budget message Monday.

The governor’s plan is good news in tough economic times, said Scott Schulick, chairman of YSU’s board of trustees.

The freeze is popular across the state, but may at some point become impractical if the state can’t afford to keep increasing aid to the universities, he said.

Costs keep rising and the schools have to meet those expenses or make cuts to reduce spending, he said.

YSU had been looking at different scenarios for fiscal 2009-10 that included the possibility of a tuition increase if state funding remained flat or was reduced.

The governor’s pledge is a positive development, said David C. Sweet, university president, adding that YSU supports maintaining the tuition freeze.

The state’s university presidents got notice of the governor’s plans in a conference telephone call just before he delivered his speech Wednesday, Sweet said.

YSU had nine annual tuition increases in a row before agreeing to the freeze in 2007, which kept undergraduate in-state tuition at $6,720 annually for fiscal years 2007-08 and 2008-09, the lowest among the state’s 11 comprehensive public universities.

State aid makes up about one-third of the YSU budget and the university is receiving $49.8 million this year, up 10 percent from last year.

YSU tuition essentially covers the remaining two-thirds of the nearly $150 million budget.

YSU’s tuition rate is still well below the state average for public four-year colleges and universities, said Sweet. The Ohio Board of Regents puts that state number at $8,482.

The university runs an efficient system with quality programs, Sweet said, pointing out that the cost per student here is significantly lower than the average at public institutions across the state. The university reported that it was spending $10,108 per student in fiscal year 2008.

, well below the average of $13,123 among state universities in Ohio.

gwin@vindy.com