USC OKs largest tuition hike in 5 years

Students at the University of South Carolina will pay 3.25 percent more in tuition on average to attend the state’s flagship university starting this fall.

The school’s board of trustees approved the hike Friday, USC’s largest in five years.

Undergraduates from South Carolina will pay $11,855 for tuition during the upcoming academic year, $373 more than in 2015-16. Out-of-state students will pay $31,283, up $985 from last year.

“We think the 3.25 percent is prudent,” USC President Harris Pastides said. “It’s something that we hoped that our in-state residents could live with.”

USC’s 3.25 percent tuition hike is in line with tuition increases at other four-year public colleges across the state.

Clemson University this week approved a 3.14 percent tuition increase for S.C. students and a 4.27 percent increase for out-of-state students.

The College of Charleston will increase tuition by 3.5 percent, The Citadel by roughly 3 percent and Winthrop University by 2.5 percent.

USC also will increase its average traditional housing charge for students by 4 percent to $5,130 next year and will bump up the cost of a 10-meal-a-week dining plan by 2.2 percent to $2,764 a year.

In a statement, Pastides lamented the lack of state taxpayer funding for South Carolina’s largest public college. About 10.5 percent of USC’s $1.5 billion budget this year comes from the state.

State support for S.C. colleges has waned since the Great Recession. In 2007-08, state dollars accounted for 23 percent of USC’s then-$1 billion budget. USC has increased tuition every year since 1987.

USC chief financial officer Leslie Brunelli said a state-mandated 3.25 percent pay raise for state employees will cost the school about $11.8 million. The state is expected to provide $4.4 million of that total, but USC must pay the rest from tuition revenue, university spokesman Wes Hickman said.

Tuition revenues will account for nearly 48 percent of USC’s budget next year.

USC’s board did not discuss raising fees for student parking permits Friday to pay for $12.5 million in campus-wide parking improvements.

Last month, USC said it would raise parking fees for faculty and staff. But officials said trustees had not yet decided on an increase for student permits.

This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 11:04 AM with the headline "USC OKs largest tuition hike in 5 years."