PORTLAND — A student protest failed to stop Portland State University trustees from increasing tuition and fees for resident undergraduates to more than $8,000 a year.
University President Wim Wiewel told trustees that the 4.2 percent increase — along with $4.7 million in cuts — was needed to balance the budget, unless the Legislature increases funding for higher education.
Presidents say all of Oregon’s seven public universities face a similar budget crunch unless the Legislature comes through with $755 million, an amount that would restore funding per student for the 2015-17 budget cycle to 2007 levels.
Two dozen protesters shut down the trustees’ meeting for more than 20 minutes. The protesters marched around the trustees in a circle, chanting and clapping. Board Chairman Pete Nickerson called a recess until the protest was finished.
“I’m very sympathetic about the student concerns about this,” Wiewel said Thursday. “In the end it’s the responsibility of the board, and my responsibility as president, to make sure the institution has a balanced budget and long-term viability, and that requires increasing tuition as well as continued cuts.”
Out-of-state and graduate tuition will rise 3 percent under the plan approved by the board 10-2. Tuition and fees for full time resident undergraduates will rise from $7,794 to $8,124 for the next academic year.
Roughly 200 students and supporters rallied outside the building before the meeting was held. Freshman Robyn Belmont held a sign saying, “I am not an ATM.”
Seattle native Sasha Krotova, a master’s degree candidate, held a bright yellow sign saying: “According to my calculations, I will have my student loans paid off five years after I die.”
Average tuition and fees at Oregon’s public universities have increased 41 percent between 2007 and 2014, from $5,928 to $8,391. The jump comes as students also are dealing with expensive textbooks and rising living expenses.
