Tuition And Fees

The state university system's Board of Regents approved a 3 percent tuition increase Wednesday for most in-state students, bringing a routine close to a budget process that was briefly thrown into chaos by the General Assembly's inability to agree on a spending plan. Though the university system received $5.3 million in cuts in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed $2 billion operating budget for 2013, the trims were not deep enough to force a change in the planned tuition increase. "It's a small enough number that I think the campuses will be able to absorb it without any significant impact to student services or to academic quality," said Chancellor William E. Kirwan of the cut. System workers will not face furloughs, Kirwan said, though most salaries will remain frozen aside from a 2 percent cost-of-living increase scheduled to begin Jan. 1. The presidents of each campus will decide how to implement the cuts.

Apparently, private colleges are finding that there's just so far you can push families to pay for tuition and fees. Schools have been increasing their grants to lure students. A study released today by the National Association of College and University Business Offices found that the so-called tuition discounting - how much school grants make up of tuition and fee revenue - reached an all time high of 44.3 percent for incoming freshman in 2011. And the group said that level is expected to reach 45 percent for 2012.

The cost of attending private colleges and universities rose an average 7 percent this year, while tuition and fees at public colleges and universities shot up an average 10 percent, according to the College Board's annual survey of the price of higher education.For the private institutions, where price tags for tuition, room and board are now approaching $25,000 a year, the increase is relatively modest compared with the double-digit increases of the 1980s. But the public institutions, strained by fiscal crises in many states during the past few years, continue to rely on bigger student charges to keep them afloat.

The cost of in-state tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities has gone up by about $400, according to a new report by the College Board. The increase is less than years past. But also in the past, federal aid more than kept pace with rising tuition, and so the average cost for students actually went down, the group said. Now, federal aid is no longer rapidly increasing. College Board found that the majority of undergrad students paid an average of about $2,900 in tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 school year, after subtracting the typical financial aid package of $5,750.

Founded: 1890. Location: Norman, Okla. Enrollment: 18,308 undergraduates. Tuition and fees: $2,713 in-state, $7,437 out-of-state. Famous alumni: Astronaut Shannon Lucid; actor Dennis Weaver; congressman J.C. Watts. Academic ranking: Ranked in top 100 among public national universities, according to U.S. News & World Report (September 2001). School colors: Crimson and cream. Nickname: Sooners. Last trip to Final Four: 1988. NCAA basketball titles: None.

A campaign ad watch in Thursday's editions of The Sun should have included additional data when discussing a television ad for Mayor Martin O'Malley that claims that public school tuition in Maryland increased by 40 percent during Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s term. While the ad watch analysis discussed tuition and fees, tuition alone increased slightly less than 38 percent from 2002 to 2005.

The cost of in-state tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities has gone up by about $400, according to a new report by the College Board. The increase is less than years past. But also in the past, federal aid more than kept pace with rising tuition, and so the average cost for students actually went down, the group said. Now, federal aid is no longer rapidly increasing. College Board found that the majority of undergrad students paid an average of about $2,900 in tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 school year, after subtracting the typical financial aid package of $5,750.

Apparently, private colleges are finding that there's just so far you can push families to pay for tuition and fees. Schools have been increasing their grants to lure students. A study released today by the National Association of College and University Business Offices found that the so-called tuition discounting - how much school grants make up of tuition and fee revenue - reached an all time high of 44.3 percent for incoming freshman in 2011. And the group said that level is expected to reach 45 percent for 2012.

Tuition and fees have climbed an average of 10.5 percent, or $487, this year at the nation's public four-year colleges and universities, the College Board reported yesterday. The increase was smaller than last year's 13.3 percent but still among the biggest in the past quarter-century. Officials with the nonprofit group and other analysts said that the latest tuition and financial aid trends are forcing many students to go more deeply into debt than in the past to pay for their education.

Carroll Community College has proposed an operating budget of $18.5 million for the next fiscal year that calls for a 4.5 percent tuition increase, college officials said yesterday. The proposed budget - a $1.2 million increase over this year's - was presented this week to the college's board of trustees. If approved, it would be the 11th straight year of tuition increases at the college. The tuition increase would become effective in June. "We think the tuition increase, while it's something we don't like to do, is a reasonable increase given the education that our students get here," said Alan Schuman, the college's executive vice president of administration.

The state university system's Board of Regents approved a 3 percent tuition increase Wednesday for most in-state students, bringing a routine close to a budget process that was briefly thrown into chaos by the General Assembly's inability to agree on a spending plan. Though the university system received $5.3 million in cuts in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed $2 billion operating budget for 2013, the trims were not deep enough to force a change in the planned tuition increase. "It's a small enough number that I think the campuses will be able to absorb it without any significant impact to student services or to academic quality," said Chancellor William E. Kirwan of the cut. System workers will not face furloughs, Kirwan said, though most salaries will remain frozen aside from a 2 percent cost-of-living increase scheduled to begin Jan. 1. The presidents of each campus will decide how to implement the cuts.

Rick Santorum called the president "a snob" for wanting everyone to get a college education. (In fact, President Barack Obama never actually called for universal college education but only for a year or more of training after high school.) Mr. Santorum needn't worry. America is already making it harder for young people of modest means to attend college. Public higher education is being starved, and the middle class will shrink even more as a result. Over the last year, 41 states have cut spending for public higher education.

The leaders of Maryland's university system say they're grateful that Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed another increase in higher-education spending for 2012-2013 at a time when many states are slashing support for public universities. University officials were in Annapolis on Wednesday to testify on behalf of the governor's proposed budget, which includes a 0.8 percent increase in operating funds and $215 million in capital projects for the state system. As in previous years, O'Malley chose to "buy down" a systemwide tuition increase, adding $9 million to the budget to limit the increase to 3 percent for a third straight year.

Peer learning Anne Arundel Community College's Peer Learning Partnership, which meets year-round for noncredit classes, discussion groups and cultural and social events, will hold a preview of its 12 spring and five summer courses at 10 a.m. Jan. 4, in Room 219 of the Cade Center for Fine Arts on the Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway. The free open house will include refreshments at 9:30 a.m. For course descriptions, schedule, prices and other information, go to http://www.aacc.edu/plp or call 410-777-2325.

Beginning next month, members of the military who have served on active duty since the attacks on Sept. 11 might be able to take advantage of a new GI Bill that will pick up the tab for a college degree. The Post-9/11 GI Bill can cover up to four years of tuition and fees at a public university and help with the cost of private college. It gives money for books and, in some cases, housing. As part of the military's retention effort, members on active duty can transfer their benefits to a spouse or child.

College tuition is keeping pace with inflation, rising about 6 percent this year, the College Board reported yesterday. But officials warned that tuition could soar as the economy tightens and universities' endowments and state funds shrink. Nationwide, tuition and fees went up 6.4 percent at public four-year universities, to $6,585, and 5.9 percent at private four-year universities, to $25,143, for the current academic year. In Maryland, tuition at state universities has been frozen for the past three years.

THE FIRST CUTS have been made by the new chancellor of Baltimore County's three community colleges, the kinds of cost reductions in the $78 million budget that Daniel J. LaVista was hired to make. Thirty staff jobs will be eliminated, and some operations will close or shrink, with more personnel reductions promised by early next year.It's still unclear how this restructuring will affect education at the Catonsville, Essex and Dundalk campuses. But there is concern that cuts will fall disproportionately on the instructors, rather than on higher-cost administrative staff: plans for three presidents, two vice chancellors and nationwide searches for other chancellor aides reinforce such concerns.

Carroll Community College has proposed an operating budget of $18.5 million for the next fiscal year that calls for a 4.5 percent tuition increase, college officials said yesterday. The proposed budget - a $1.2 million increase over this year's - was presented this week to the college's board of trustees. If approved, it would be the 11th straight year of tuition increases at the college. The tuition increase would become effective in June. "We think the tuition increase, while it's something we don't like to do, is a reasonable increase given the education that our students get here," said Alan Schuman, the college's executive vice president of administration.

The financial freedom that comes with that first real job can be exhilarating. Your own money. Your own apartment. Your own schedule. Your own tax return. Tax return? Yes, at some point you'll face the task of filing your first income tax return, embarking on a lifelong relationship with the IRS. If you're single and a newbie to taxes, here's what you need to know: First, you must file a return if your gross income last year was $8,450 or higher. Your employer by now should have mailed a W-2 form that states your wages and the taxes withheld from your paycheck.

The cost of obtaining a four-year university degree continues to outpace inflation, and in an era of declining federal aid students are increasingly relying on private bank loans to finance their education, the College Board said yesterday. The cost of tuition and fees at four-year public universities rose 6.3 percent from 2005 to 2006, capping an increase of 35 percent over five years, the nonprofit board reported. At the same time, the amount of federal financial aid available through Pell Grants hit a new low, the organization said.