The LSU System Board of Supervisors adopted the recommendation to increase tuition by $13.8 million for the LSU System campuses during its recent monthly meeting.
Each campus will be impacted differently by the increase, but the University will see a $288 annual boost.
The increase marks the fourth-consecutive year of 5 percent annual increases for the University and is a result of Act 915, commonly referred to as the “3, 4, 5 Plan,” passed by the Legislature in 2008.
Board Member Laura Leach said at the meeting that though the board has repeatedly passed the tuition hikes, it still “disturbs” her.
“We are putting our financial needs on the backs of the college students,” Leach said. “I consider higher education the highest issue that we have, the single most important issue.”
In the end, Leach said she would “vote yes on this because I feel it’s necessary.” The board unanimously approved the act’s extension.
Danielle Krumm, nutritional sciences freshman, said the increase will be a burden.
“The increases are ridiculous,” Krumm said. “We have to pay so much already. There are only so many scholarships you can get.” Krumm said she hopes this hike is the only one for the fall. But that might not be the case, according to conversation among the board members.
The board was presented an update on the fiscal year 2011-12 Appropriation Bill and approved the recommendation for the preliminary budget distribution methodology.
The distribution of funding to the campuses is based on a number of factors, many of which depend on the Legislative session, which began Monday.
Other potential tuition increases for the fall include a tuition cap, which would move the full-time hour mark from 12 hours to 15 hours, as well as increases from the LA GRAD Act and the Operational Fee.
Another pending factor that stirred conversation is Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to cap the Millennium Trust Fund and dedicate excess funds to TOPS.
“If that measure doesn’t pass, we are still at risk of a $100 million loss,” said Wendy Simoneaux, assistant vice president for Budget and Finance for the LSU System, referring to the TOPS legislation.
The 2011 legislative session will adjourn June 23.
______
Contact Sydni Dunn at [email protected]