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Politics & Government

Dig Deep, Parents—Pitt and Penn State Raise Tuition

Both schools kept their promise of keeping tuition hikes at or below the consumer price index if state lawmakers maintained funding at current levels.

Sending your kid to Pitt or Penn State? Ka-ching!

The boards of trustees of both schools voted Friday to increase tuition, but kept their promise to state lawmakers to hold the hikes at or below the consumer price index, in exchange for no additional cuts in state funding.

A student at Penn State's University Park flagship campus will see an increase of 2.9 percent over last year's tuition cost of $15,124. That figure does not include room and board.  The increase is the lowest percentage tuition boost in 45 years and one of the smallest in the nation, according to university officials, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

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Tuition at the university's 19 branch campuses will increase by 1.9 percent, and out-of-state undergraduates at the main campus will pay 2.4 percent more in the upcoming school year.

Last year's larger hike of 4.9 percent for most of the school's in-state undergraduates followed a reduction in state aid of 20 percent, or about $68 million, the Post-Gazette reported.

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The University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees also voted Friday morning to raise tuition 3 percent at its main campus in Oakland, and 2 percent at its four satellite campuses, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. 

The increase affects in-state and out-of-state students. 

A Pennsylvania resident who attends the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, the largest school within the university, will pay an extra $458 this year, up from $15,272 last year. That figure does not include room and board. 

The trustees also approved an increase in the athletic and freshman socialization fees on the Greensburg campus as well as the creation of a recreation fee at the Johnstown campus and a parking and transportation fee at the Bradford campus, the Post-Gazette reported. 

Pitt last year implemented its largest tuition hike since 2003, when trustees increased tuition by 8.5 percent — or $1,196 — for in-state students and 4 percent — $948 — for out-of-state students. That raised annual tuition costs to $15,272 and $24,680, respectively, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported

The state budget signed by  maintains funding at current levels for Pennsylvania’s four state-related schools, the University of Pittsburgh, The Pennsylvania State University, Lincoln University, and Temple University. 

New data from the U.S. Department of Education  Penn State’s University Park campus, and Pitt’s main Oakland campus as the two most expensive four-year public colleges in the U.S. The numbers are based on 2010-11 tuition rates.

What do you think of the tuition hikes? Tell us in the comments.

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