PSU Vanguard
March 30th, 2015
The Portland State Board of Trustees voted 10–2 at the winter term quarterly Board meeting to approve a resolution that outlines a 4.2 percent increase in tuition and fees for resident undergraduates. The increase will take effect Fall 2015.
Trustee Sho Dozono and student trustee Maria Carolina-Gonzalez-Prats voted against the resolution.
“To have to raise tuition is very difficult,” said trustee Christine Vernier. “We absolutely need more state funding.”
At the meeting, PSU President Wim Wiewel said the 4.2 percent overall rise would also be paired with a proposed $4.7 million in cuts in order to balance the budget.
The Board chose the “middle road,” according to University Communications Director Scott Gallagher. He said there would either be no increase in tuition and $9 million in cuts or the approved 4.2 percent increase paired with smaller cuts.
For an in-state undergraduate student taking 15 credits, this vote translates to a $110 per term increase, according to the Board Resolution Concerning 2015–16 Tuition Rates.
Specifically, the Board approved a $7 per credit increase for resident undergraduate students, a $15 per credit increase for non-resident undergraduate students, and a $17 per credit increase for non-resident graduate students.