2008 Woodie Awards
Tuition freeze plans finalized
Kevin Robillard
Issue date: 6/5/08 Section: News
From 2002 through 2006, tuition increased more than 40 percent at some schools, prompting student protests and testimony before state lawmakers. O'Malley, elected in 2006, pledged to hold the line on tuition.
The tuition freeze comes at a cost, of course. Lawmakers pushed through $1.4 billion in tax increases during a special session last fall, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 7 percent to 8.25 percent. Half the new revenue from that tax hike - about $54 million this fiscal year - will go into an investment fund for higher education in the upcoming fiscal year.
Out-of-state tuition will now be $21,637 a year, while in-state will remain $6,566. Housing costs will increase about 2 percent.
Del. Gail Bates (R-Howard) said it was unfair to use taxpayer dollars to freeze tuition without asking universities to do some belt-tightening.
"It's easy to say we're going to hold the line on tuition when you don't hold the line on the cost to operate the institutions," she said.
Robert Mitchell, appointed a Regent by O'Malley's Republican predecessor, Robert Ehrlich, was the only Regent to vote against the tuition freeze. He said afterward that he appreciated what the governor had done but added he felt the university system needed more money.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. robillarddbk@gmail.com
The tuition freeze comes at a cost, of course. Lawmakers pushed through $1.4 billion in tax increases during a special session last fall, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 7 percent to 8.25 percent. Half the new revenue from that tax hike - about $54 million this fiscal year - will go into an investment fund for higher education in the upcoming fiscal year.
Out-of-state tuition will now be $21,637 a year, while in-state will remain $6,566. Housing costs will increase about 2 percent.
Del. Gail Bates (R-Howard) said it was unfair to use taxpayer dollars to freeze tuition without asking universities to do some belt-tightening.
"It's easy to say we're going to hold the line on tuition when you don't hold the line on the cost to operate the institutions," she said.
Robert Mitchell, appointed a Regent by O'Malley's Republican predecessor, Robert Ehrlich, was the only Regent to vote against the tuition freeze. He said afterward that he appreciated what the governor had done but added he felt the university system needed more money.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. robillarddbk@gmail.com
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
Pissed off
posted 6/05/08 @ 10:40 PM EST
Out of state students get pissed on. $15,000 difference per year is way out of line. No guarantee on campus housing. It will hurt the University in the long run. (Continued…)
The Old Line
posted 6/06/08 @ 11:18 AM EST
I hear the distant thunder-hum,
Maryland!
The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
Maryland! My Maryland!
out of state
posted 6/10/08 @ 3:19 AM EST
I am an out of state student who has spent nearly 4 years here in MD. I work 20-40(+) hours a week all year for a Maryland state education program. All that work can not come close to meeting the cost of housing and the out of state tuition. (Continued…)
Wahhh
posted 6/10/08 @ 8:11 AM EST
Dear Out of State Whiners,
Go to Rutgers.
Thanks,
Maryland Resident
al
posted 6/12/08 @ 1:14 AM EST
Ouch, that out-of-state tuition really hurts!!! My child has never even lived on campus!!
Patrick Bateman
posted 6/12/08 @ 7:22 AM EST
I think it's wrong for Maryland officials to go to other states and physically force kids there to come to Maryland and pay their outrageous out of state tuitions. (Continued…)
Paul Allen
posted 6/17/08 @ 3:38 PM EST
I'm confused. People from out of state don't like the price of this college but still come here? You don't like the way you get charged double or triple what in-state students pay so you want the gov to step in and have a price control? This generation is so dependent on the gov to control everything in their lives. (Continued…)
Patrick Bateman
posted 6/18/08 @ 4:31 PM EST
No, Paul, you don't understand. You act as if they are able to make decisions for themselves. Those kids from New Jersey are forced to come to Maryland. (Continued…)
Connecticut Terp
posted 6/25/08 @ 12:21 PM EST
Yes, out of state students come here of their own free will, and it's expected to be paying more for out of state tuition--and not just in Maryland, but anywhere you go. (Continued…)
Timothy Bryce
posted 6/25/08 @ 4:41 PM EST
"Am I totally off base, or is that at least a little understandable? "
I wish we could apply this to our federal tax structure. Instead of taxing the richest 5% of america an extra 15% we could just raise the poor and middle class tax by only . (Continued…)
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