The Plain Dealer

Janet Okoben

Plain Dealer Reporter

Ohio families will get a break on their public-college tuition bills over the next two years. But the extra money the state is providing in exchange for a tuition freeze won’t give much of a boost to university budgets, college leaders say.

“It’s revenue-neutral for us,” said Michael Devlin, a spokesman for Cuyahoga Community College. “If it increases access to education while at the same time making it revenue-neutral for the college, it’s a good thing.”

Like other Ohio colleges, Tri-C agreed to freeze tuition for two years. State aid will be about $1 million more than last year to offset that.

But state money pays only part of a college’s bills. At the University of Akron, for example, the $90 million it will get from the state for the current budget year represents only 27 percent of school’s operating budget. Tuition provides most of the rest.

In some cases, the extra state money this year won’t cover costs. Budget planners at Kent State University came up with spending estimates months ago based on a 3 percent rise in tuition, said Scott Rainone, a Kent spokesman. But the $5 million more in state money that Kent will get this year is the equivalent of only a 2 percent tuition increase.

The school will pull from investment income to make up the difference, Rainone said.

Members of the Ohio Board of Regents worried last week about a flurry of fee increases and asked Chancellor Eric Fingerhut to check into the situation.

Fingerhut is expected to report back this week with a list of fees, but he said Monday that no schools appear to be raising fees exorbitantly. The fee hikes have been “consistent with historic increases,” he said.

Students at Ohio University will see a 6 percent rise in room and board costs. Ohio State will increase its charge by 4.7 percent. Housing fees at Youngstown State will go up 3.9 percent.

Other schools decided on fee increases before the state budget was even approved.

Kent State trustees voted for a 4.7 percent increase on housing fees in April.

That same month, the University of Akron’s trustees approved a 4 percent rise in dorm rates and a 6 percent rise in meal-plan rates.

Cleveland State trustees decided on a 3.5 percent increase in housing fees in November.

Fingerhut also noted that only 14 percent of Ohio’s public-college students live in dorms, so a fee increase there would have limited effect.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jokoben@plaind.com, 216-999-4535

http://www.cleveland.com/education/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/other/1185352700235720.xml&coll=2