University System of Maryland colleges are likely to face “modest” tuition increases next year because of the recession, Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan said.
“In this fiscal time, yes, we may see some modest increase in tuition,” Kirwan said after a College Board news conference this week on Capitol Hill.
Maryland has had a three-year tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate students at public universities under Gov. Martin O’Malley. Before the freeze, the University System of Maryland raised tuition by as much as 33 percent, between 2002 and 2004, to account for budget deficits and declining state funding.
Under the freeze, Maryland went from the sixth- to the 16th-highest in-state tuition nationally, Kirwan said.
But keeping a tuition freeze “is going to be a challenge,” he said.
O’Malley hasn’t made a tuition freeze decision for next year, spokesman Shaun Adamec said.
Maryland will have an estimated $1 billion shortfall in the next fiscal year, which includes the University System of Maryland.
The University System of Maryland is expected to take action on tuition in January or early February, Kirwan said.
At University of Maryland, College Park, in-state tuition this academic year is $6,566 and out-of-state tuition is $21,637; both have $1,439 in additional fees.
At Towson University, in-state students pay $5,180 and out-of-state students pay $15,726 per year. Additional fees are $7,314.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland this week announced a plan to increase tuition, fees, and room and board for next year by 5 percent. The 2009-to-2010 in-state price tag will be $22,874, up from this year’s $21,559.
The school of 2,000 students is a public college not under the University System of Maryland, so it does not share the tuition freeze, said Marc Apter, the college’s vice president of marketing.
This year’s increase was due to increasing costs of energy and food, and decreasing endowments, Apter added.
The Maryland Board of Regents meets today to discuss and pass a furlough plan in anticipation of further budget cuts, Kirwan said.
