A Prince George’s state senator recently introduced legislation that would cap undergraduate tuition hikes for state students at 4 percent annually at Maryland public colleges.
“Tuition has gotten out of control in Maryland,” Sen. Jim Rosapepe, D-College Park, told The Examiner on Tuesday. “Over the past several years, tuition has gone up 40 percent.”
The bill, which 28 other state senators have co-sponsored, would also phase in a permanent formula for fully funding the University System of Maryland’s and Morgan State University’s budgets.
“Right now, the governor can put in whatever he wants,” Rosapepe said. “We want stable funding and we want predictable, limited tuition increases.”
From 2002 to 2005, Rosapepe said, college tuition increased by 40 percent at the state’s public colleges.
At College Park, the University of Maryland’s flagship campus, in-state tuition was $6,566 last fall, compared with $4,800 for the fall 2002 semester.
“Gov. [Martin] O’Malley, to his credit, has put enough money in this year’s budget to freeze tuition for one year,” Rosapepe said.
Under Rosapepe’s bill, beginning in fiscal 2009, the state would start phasing in the funding formula and would institute the tuition cap.
“I hope that it will make college more affordable for working people,” Rosapepe said.
The senator said a public hearing on the bill likely will take place in March. Andrew Friedson, a junior at the College Park campus, said he supports Rosapepe’s bill.
“The university often gets a bad rap for tuition going up, but, in fact, it’s often out of their control,” he said.
Friedson voiced some concern that the university could raise tuition 4 percent annually to cover potential costs down the road when such a hike wasn’t necessary.
“That might very well happen,” Rosapepe said. “But that is good for students because [the 4 percent cap] provides predictability.”
Should inflation rise beyond 4 percent in a given year, Rosapepe said the state will pay the difference.
“But if it’s less, the taxpayer saves,” he said.
