The Portland State Board of Trustees voted to once again raise student tuition for the 2020–21 academic year on Thursday. Resident undergraduate tuition will rise 4.9%, while resident graduate and non-resident undergraduate and graduate tuition will rise by $10 per credit hour.
The board voted 13-1 in favor of adopting the resolution. Antonio Leiva, who is the only PSU student on the board, was the only trustee to vote against the resolution.
The June 18 meeting also included a vote to reduce the mandatory fees for summer term, as well as a vote on the 2020–21 operating budget. In addition, the meeting included an hour of remote public comment, largely consisting of calls to disarm, reform or disband the Campus Public Safety Office, and for the board not to go through with the potential tuition increase.
BOT member Wally Van Valkenburg addressed the public comment before the vote, saying higher education needed more financial support from the state legislature, so PSU can stop raising student tuition each year.
“We simply cannot continue to increase tuition, year after year at a rate that is five times the rate of inflation. And it’s not the fault of the university,” Valkenburg said. “If we can’t address better state funding to come up [and] come back to us next year with a model that doesn’t increase tuition at these levels, we’re just going to have to cut expenses at the university, if that’s the only solution. We can’t continue to increase tuition rates at this level.”
The increased tuition will go into effect in fall 2020.
So what are the #s. How much was undergraduate tuition this year? How much will it be next year?
“Antonio Leiva, who is the only PSU student on the board, was the only trustee to vote against the resolution. ”
THANK YOU ANTONIO FOR ADVOCATING FOR STUDENTS. It’s a shame the board voted to approve this and only 1 person spoke up against it when it came time to vote.
THANK YOU ANTONIO, THANK YOU.