The Portland State Board of Trustees voted 10-2 to approve a 4.2 percent increase in tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students, starting next fall.
According to a press release from PSU Director of Communications Scott Gallagher, President Wim Wiewel said PSU needs more fund allocation from the state legislature in order to implement a smaller tuition increase.
Wiewel’s presentation included information about upcoming university spending cuts and emphasized a need for more state funding.
“If funding comes in more than the co-chairs’ [of the Joint Ways and Means Committee] budget, then we will lower the tuition increase,” Wiewel said.
Students organized by the PSU Student Union protested the tuition increase, starting in the Park Blocks an hour before the meeting. Students pre-registered for public comment at the board meeting, which gave them the opportunity to speak out against the tuition increase.
Students who did not participate in the public comment section interrupted the meeting, chanting and shouting in protest of the board’s pending decision. The protest caused a 30 minute delay in the meeting.
Associated Students of Portland State University President Eric Noll commented on the financial hardships associated with higher education tuition and fees.
“Students are not financial experts, but we are experts in our financial hardships,” Noll said, according the press release.
Other items included on the board meeting’s agenda were a presentation from the Campus Public Safety Special Committee and election of 2015–16 board members. Items of discussion included an introduction to the PSU Faculty Association and on update on PSU Foundation’s fundraising priorities.
Visit psuvanguard.com for upcoming expanded coverage on the Board of Trustee’s decisions.
