Staff Writer

Students at Troy State University will be digging a bit deeper into their pockets to pay tuition in the fall.

University officials have announced tuition will increase by six percent for fall semester 2001, following approval by the TSU Board of Trustees, which met May 24. Trustees attributed the need for a tuition increase to partially offset the reduction in state allocations for the 2001-2002 fiscal year.

"Proration has everything to do with it," John Schmidt, vice president of Student Affairs, said of the increase.

As a system, Schmidt said, proration will experience a $4 million cut in state funding.

"We looked at all the internal ways to cut costs before we looked at increasing tuition," he said. "We hate to increase at all."

Some of those cost-cutting measures will include such things as leaving positions unfilled.

Those cuts, Schmidt said, will amount to over $1 million, leaving approximately a $3.5 million deficit.

The change increases undergraduate tuition for a full-time student from $1,425 to $1,510 per semester. For graduate courses, the cost per credit hour will increase from $130 to $138. There was no increase in technology fees or student activity fees.

Residence hall rates will increase an average of 2.8 percent, based on the residence hall assigned. For example, cost for a shared, traditional residence hall room will increase from $1,035 per semester to $1,065.

Despite the increases in tuition and cuts in the university system, Schmidt said the quality of a Troy State education will be untouched.

"I believe we’ve kept the value while trying to keep the affordability," Schmidt said.

He also said he believes the students "were prepared for an increase," by being kept informed of proration issues.

The tuition increase for TSU is consistent with tuition increases at other public universities in Alabama.

At Auburn University, tuition has increased by 6.9 percent for fall semester and 7 percent at the Montgomery campus. Full-time undergraduate state residents will pay $1,630 per semester, an increase from $1,525, at the main campus. AUM’s tuition went from $1,500 to $1,605 for Alabama residents taking a full course load.

The University of Alabama Board of Trustees also increased tuition. UA students will pay $1,650 in tuition if they are an Alabama resident.

The University of South Alabama’s undergraduates will pay $1,615 per semester (including fees and 15 credit hours) beginning in the fall.