After four years without a tuition increase, Ohio State students face the possibility. WOSU reports OSU administrators have proposed a 7 percent increase by next fall.
Ohio State student Joe Forrest shook his head and grumbled "more money" when he heard about the proposed tuition increase.
While most students will get the news of a possible tuition hike next week when they return from spring break, others, like Forrest, already are contemplating how it might impact them.
"It's all on a loan anyway, so it will be fine," Forrest said.
The last time Ohio State increased tuition was 2006. Then a two-year statewide tuition freeze prevented further increases. The state lifted the ban last July. Ohio State officials honored an earlier promise to not raise tuition until after this year's spring quarter.
Instead, students face a one-two tuition increase punch.
State law caps annual tuition increases at 3.5 percent. OSU proposes to get the first hike in just before the end of this fiscal year, and also at the start of the next.
OSU's Senior Vice President for Business and Finance William Shkurti said he knows tuition increases are unpopular, but he said the two back-to-back increases actually saved students - or their parents - money in a difficult economic time.
"Had we done it earlier, say in the fall, you'd be reporting a 3.5 percent increase, which sounds a lot less. Our students and their families would have been out $12.5 million," Shkurti said.
If passed, students will see a 3.5 percent increase tacked on to summer quarter tuition and another 3.5 percent again in the fall. The typical undergrad tuition this coming school year would rise to at around $9,400.
Sophomore Svetlana Clark is unsure how an increase would affect her.
"I'm on a scholarship now. So it depends if they increase the scholarship or not. But otherwise, I couldn't afford it," Clark said.
With the increase, OSU has the fifth highest in-state tuition among Ohio's public universities. Miami University has the highest at nearly $13,000.
OSU board members are set to discuss the tuition increase next week. A vote on it is expected in May.