2008 Woodie Awards
Tuition freeze plans finalized
Kevin Robillard
Issue date: 6/5/08 Section: News
Tuition for in-state undergraduates will remain frozen for the third year in a row, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) announced Wednesday, but out-of-state tuition will increase by 4 percent.
After a nearly unanimous vote by the Board of Regents, which governors the University System of Maryland, O'Malley joined USM's Chancellor Brit Kirwan, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D) and other officials in Baltimore to announce the tuition freeze.
"We feel this is an extraordinary indication of the support we are enjoying from the governor and the General Assembly," Kirwan said at the press conference.
In an interview with The Diamondback in May, O'Malley said he hoped he could hold off tuition hikes.
"We hope to hold [tuition increases] at zero for the next few years," he said. "God and the economy willing."
O'Malley did not explicitly say tuition would increase if voters do not approve a referendum to legalize slot-machine gambling in the state, which O'Malley supports and has tied to the future of higher education funding. However, he said a referendum failure in November would mean going "back to the drawing board" with the "same unpopular choices" when it comes to solving the state's budget problems.
"We're really fortunate," Student Government Association President Jonathan Sachs said. He said that, after attending a conference with 175 other SGA presidents from around the country, he found that most other state governments are not willing to financially support state colleges and universities to the same degree that Maryland does.
"It's a huge asset to us to have a friend in the governor's office," Sachs said.
Sachs said he would continue to lobby in Annapolis to help keep tuition down, vowing to meet with state Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary's), who chairs a commission on higher education funding Sachs said he believes a dedicated funding source would eliminate the yearly suspense about tuition.
Kirwan noted that students who entered college in fall 2005 and will graduate in spring 2009 will pay the same for tuition all four years, and he said he was unaware of any other state that could make that claim.
After a nearly unanimous vote by the Board of Regents, which governors the University System of Maryland, O'Malley joined USM's Chancellor Brit Kirwan, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D) and other officials in Baltimore to announce the tuition freeze.
"We feel this is an extraordinary indication of the support we are enjoying from the governor and the General Assembly," Kirwan said at the press conference.
In an interview with The Diamondback in May, O'Malley said he hoped he could hold off tuition hikes.
"We hope to hold [tuition increases] at zero for the next few years," he said. "God and the economy willing."
O'Malley did not explicitly say tuition would increase if voters do not approve a referendum to legalize slot-machine gambling in the state, which O'Malley supports and has tied to the future of higher education funding. However, he said a referendum failure in November would mean going "back to the drawing board" with the "same unpopular choices" when it comes to solving the state's budget problems.
"We're really fortunate," Student Government Association President Jonathan Sachs said. He said that, after attending a conference with 175 other SGA presidents from around the country, he found that most other state governments are not willing to financially support state colleges and universities to the same degree that Maryland does.
"It's a huge asset to us to have a friend in the governor's office," Sachs said.
Sachs said he would continue to lobby in Annapolis to help keep tuition down, vowing to meet with state Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary's), who chairs a commission on higher education funding Sachs said he believes a dedicated funding source would eliminate the yearly suspense about tuition.
Kirwan noted that students who entered college in fall 2005 and will graduate in spring 2009 will pay the same for tuition all four years, and he said he was unaware of any other state that could make that claim.
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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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