Portland State University administration has chosen to make the summer quarter more like the other three quarters by charging the regular tuition and fees.
This plan will help those who want to speed through some condensed courses and amass a number of credits over the summer to catch up or get ahead by charging the same price for 12 to 18 credits. Under the previous summer term tuition scale, each individual credit carried a charge. Also, the building, incidental and health fees will be smaller so the total cost for full-time will be a bit less than in the other three quarters.
Despite the tuition changes, the summer term will still retain its two-section format.
However the out of state tuition will increase by 168 percent to fit into the regular scale. Compared to the cost of $1,614 dollars it cost to take 12 credits last year, it will now cost $4,328 for non-residents to hit the books full time.
Although this is no more expensive than fall through spring prices, it may discourage some students from out-of-state institutions from coming to Portland State to take classes not offered at their home campuses.
“We definitely do not want to deter full-time out-of-state students from taking classes here during the summer,” Cathy Dyck vice president of Finance and Planning, said. “But it still will be cheaper in comparison to the regular term tuition.”
Dyck stressed that this is not a decision based solely on the slumping economy or the slew of recent budget cuts, but is something that was being talked about more than a year ago.
If Measure 28 passes then there will be no risk of a summer surcharge being tacked on to the reconfigured tuition scale, but in the event that the three-year income tax increase fails to get voted in, a summer term surcharge could be a possibility.
“We have prided ourselves on trying to keep our tuition low while others have chosen to raise theirs,” Dyck said. “But every time the state takes a hit, Portland State takes a hit, and we have to compensate.”
Should Measure 28 pass, students are not only likely to be reimbursed for their winter term surcharges, but there will not be one added to the spring term, which is currently the tentative plan.
Dyck said Portland State has done its best to keep the financial burden off of students’ wallets. Tuition was increased by 4.4 percent for this school year at PSU, whereas at the University of Oregon it went up by 8.2 percent.
Also, three other schools in Oregon have increased their surcharges for spring term, but Portland State has not. Per credit hour, Southern Oregon’s will go up five dollars. Oregon State’s will increase by three dollars, and the students at U of O will also pay three dollars more per credit hour.