Robert Morris University is raising tuition 6 percent this fall -- a hike consistent with private universities around the country.
The university's board of trustees on Thursday increased tuition from $12,720 this year to $13,484 starting this fall. The board also approved a 3 percent increase in room and board. That raised its most popular room and board plans from $6,572 to $6,768 a year.
"There was no concern we were outpricing ourselves," said Dick Ritchie, senior vice president for business affairs and the university's chief financial officer. "We are the lowest in the county."
He said Robert Morris continues to be a good buy compared to other private schools. The median price of tuition and fees for private colleges and universities in Pennsylvania is $19,400, he said.
The main factors in the increase are benefit hikes such as medical costs, capital improvements and salaries, Ritchie said. The university is negotiating a new contract with its faculty union.
Nationally, private schools are increasing tuition by 5 to 6 percent this year, said Sandy Baum, an economist at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She is a consulting economist for The College Board, a New York City-based group.
That compares to double-digit increases among public universities, she said.
Driving the cost of tuition for private schools, Baum said, is a decrease in their endowment revenue. "Secondly, the families of their students are less able to pay." she said.
The increase disappointed students at Robert Morris.
"I don't think college needs to be any more expensive than it already is," said Misty Ozimok, 18, a freshman from Peters, Washington County, who pays for her education through scholarships, federal and state grants and $3,000 in loans a year.
"I'm going to have to take another loan out or work my head off all summer and see if I can pay for it," she said. "It's not much of a summer vacation, but I guess that's a student's life."
The tuition hike will not affect Dana Kroetsch, 18, a freshman from Edmonton, Alberta, mainly because she has an athletic and academic scholarship. She just pays her room and board.
"I already think we're paying a ridiculous amount," she said. "I'm from Canada. There it would cost $2,500 American for a year of schooling."
