The University System of Maryland regents voted yesterday to freeze tuition levels for in-state, undergraduate students during the 2008-2009 academic year, but some fees, including room and board, will continue to rise.
The decision marks the third consecutive year that the board has held down tuition fees. Full-time and part-time undergraduate, in-state students will continue to pay the same amount for tuition in 2009. However, part-time and full-time out-of-state students and graduate students will not benefit from the regents vote.
The tuition freeze was made possible after Gov. Martin O'Malley pushed for an increase in state funding to stave off a 4 percent increase in tuition proposed by the Board of Regents. O'Malley increased appropriations to the University System by 9.4 percent, funds that otherwise would have come from a rise in tuition for in-state students.
FOR THE RECORD
An article in yesterday's Maryland section incorrectly reported tuition increases for the University of Maryland's law and medical schools for fiscal 2009.
Law school tuition will rise $1,395 for in-state and out-of-state students. Medical school tuition will rise $1,673 for in-state students and $2,348 for out-of-state students.
The Sun regrets the errors.
In-state students will not have to pay more in tuition, but they should expect increases in fees that all students must pay. The fees range from campus to campus, but at the University of Maryland, College Park, students must pay eight additional fees including fees for transportation, technology and performing arts. These fees add up to $1,439 for next year, that is on top of tuition, and room and board.
Room and board are considered "self-support fees" that the board voted to increase last March. The state does not fund these services found on campuses.
"These are all paid for via debt assumed by USM [University System of Maryland] and the fees collected to service the debt, maintain the facilities, renovating existing facilities, resurface parking lots, etc.," said John Buettner, a USM spokesman.
"Generally, the increases in these fees pace inflation and the ever-increasing costs for things such as the food supplies for dining services, energy and utilities, and contractual operators such as dining service or housekeeping companies," Buettner said.
O'Malley has made higher education a budget priority, investing nearly 30 percent more in colleges during his first two years in office than did his predecessor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., administration officials said.
With many other costs rising, University of Maryland, Baltimore County senior John Doyle said he is happy that tuition costs are not rising. Although he's not an in-state student, he pays the same tuition because he is an athlete. He picks up more cash through jobs that include working as a resident assistant on campus and as a research assistant, Doyle said. "I think it's exciting because the cost of everything else is going up ... room and board have all gone up. A lot of people have to struggle and find ways to compensate for all of the expenses."
