Summer tuition rates rise nine percent

There is a significant increase in tuition rates for Portland State’s 2012 summer term. The increase, up 9 percent from last year’s summer rates, is commensurate with rates that were approved for the full academic year of 2012–13.

The tuition review process is conducted every year and involves students, faculty and university administrators of the Tuition Review Advisory Committee. Robin Michell, the manager of budget planning and analysis at PSU, is heavily involved in the process.

“The president will develop a recommendation for consideration by the board that takes into account the advice received from the committee. However, the president need not accept that advice,” Michell said.

Until recently, the review of tuition and fees for the academic year has been a process separate from that of summer sessions. This suggests rising costs rather than costs being on par with the academic year. Starting this year, OUS campuses will propose tuition and academic fee recommendations for both the academic and summer sessions at the same time.

While students are affected by increasing costs of higher education, Michell sees the increase as necessary in providing a top-tier education.

“Aligned to our core mission of providing a quality educational experience and promoting student success, the university must consider the costs to deliver this educational experience, such as increases due to inflation for goods and services consumed, higher cost of living, increased benefit costs [for faculty] and operation and maintenance of the buildings and outdoor spaces,” said Michell.

Despite the overall increase in tuition rates, the incidental fee for summer term is lower than that of the normal academic year. It decreases from $220 to $100. But other schools, like Oregon State University, are increasing their incidental fee along with normalizing the summer rates to the academic year. For OSU, this represents a 17.7 percent increase in tuition rates.

Jan Lewis, the assistant vice chancellor for budget outreach at OUS, recently attended a meeting at PSU where the issue of the increase of summer session tuition for all OUS was brought forward.

“Summer session more and more is becoming a substantial term for students toward graduation,” Lewis said.

As this trend continues so do the needs for a uniform tuition rate. Lewis added that many OUS campuses are pushing for uniform rates.

Other OUS schools are seeing a rise in summer 2012 tuition. The University of Oregon is increasing base tuition by 6.6.–6.9 percent, but the rates are still discounted from the standard academic year.

However, the OUS School of Law is seeing a particularly drastic increase of more than 84 percent for the summer session. In a statement to the OUS board meeting docket, the UO School of Law noted that lowering tuition rates is not sustainable.

The cost of higher education has come under fire from those who believe that attending college is becoming increasingly less affordable. Communication major Willy So believes that in order for students to gain access to higher education, the costs cannot continue to rise.

“Many students load up on summer classes because the course format and affordability allow for students to knock out big chunks of their credits. I’m taking 20 credits this summer so that I can graduate,” So said.