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INDIANAPOLIS – The state Commission for Higher Education recommended Thursday that increases in tuition and mandatory fees not exceed 5 percent in each of the next two years at Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Southern Indiana.
The commission’s executive committee also recommended that increases at Ball State University and Ivy Tech Community College be held at a maximum of 4 percent and 3.5 percent at Indiana State University and Vincennes University.
The recommendations apply only to in-state undergraduate students, range between no increases and the maximums and are not binding on the institutions’ trustees.
Public hearings on proposed increases must be within 10 days after they are announced, and college officials who decide to exceed commission guidelines might have to appear before the State Budget Committee.
“There ought to be a rationale that they could make to the budget committee and the public and the students themselves as to why they would be doing that,” said incoming higher education commissioner Teresa Lubbers.
Indiana State University already had proposed a 3.9 percent increase in tuition for all students – exceeding the 3.5 percent maximum recommended by the commission. A public hearing is set for July 10. Indiana State trustees will vote on the final increase.
Purdue University announced Thursday that it is proposing to raise tuition on in-state students by 5 percent in each of the next two years, with 6 percent hikes for non-resident students.
Tuition rates typically would have been set in May, but colleges and universities had to wait until lawmakers passed a new, two-year state budget Tuesday – the last day of the fiscal year – to know how much money they would get for operating costs and state financial aid.
The new state budget cut higher education operating costs by 3.8 percent in the first year and 0.3 percent in the second, but federal stimulus money can be used to replace lost revenue. The budget increased state financial aid by 6.5 percent in the first year and 3 percent in the second, according to the commission.
The commission based its recommendations on factors such as funding adequacy, access and affordability, market forces and whether institutions were efficient with existing resources.
Commission Chairman Mike Smith said he encouraged every institution to explore all possibilities, including efficiencies, reduced costs and other revenue sources “before turning to students and their families for additional revenue.”
Purdue University said lawmakers gave them a flatline appropriation for operating costs, but 8 percent of the money was in one-time federal stimulus dollars.
“The state has worked very hard to give us the best budget possible, and we’ve made significant budget reductions at Purdue over the past year,” said Purdue President France Córdova. “Nevertheless, we still have critical university needs that are substantially underfunded.”
Some state lawmakers, including Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, said that Indiana’s public colleges and universities should not increase tuition.
“Our institutions of higher learning need to tighten their belts just like Hoosier families,” Delph said.
