Fallout from what's happening under the dome is hitting home. A hefty tuition hike means students and parents will have to pay more to attend a state university.
State and federal budget cuts left a gaping hole in the state university system's budget and to fill it board members voted Thursday to increase tuition by 7.5% which will push it above $6,000 a year.
A full-time, in-state student will pay $552 more. Steven Williams is a senior at Shippensburg. His brother goes to Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
"Books [are] already as expensive [as] $500 each semester," said Williams. "This on top of that makes college that much more difficult."
Sarah Darling goes to Millersville. But she's on the board and voted for the hike.
"It's hard to vote for that increase, but its been obviously a tough budget cycle and we see it as our portion to maintain the standards of our institutions," said Darling.
The system estimates that funding was cut by $802 per student. It would've taken a 13% tuition hike to completely fill the hole.
"Any increase is difficult on a family but we do believe that 7.5% or $218 per semester is something that we hope is palatable," said SSHE Board Member Marie Conley.
Chancellor John Cavanaugh reminds paying parents that state schools are the cheapest option in the state, and among the lowest costing public universities in the nation.
"To look at it as an investment in each individual's future I know that involves an up-front cost," said Cavanaugh.
An up-front cost that's going up in large part because funding from the state is way down, though some insist it didn't have to be.
"Knowing there's a surplus in the budget that could've been spent on schools to save us some money wracks my mind," said Williams.
When abc27's Dennis Owens asked Chancellor Cavanaugh if parents should blame the state legislature or State System of Higher Education, Cavanaugh replied,
"They're gonna have to make up their own minds."
Average state tuition is just over $6,000. But, the actual cost of a full-time in-state student is more like $16,000 after fees and room and board.
