Competing in top ranks more costly

Friday, October 24, 2003

By Eleanor Chute, Post-Gazette Education Writer

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg wants Pitt to compete in academic quality with top-rated private universities.

	University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg wants Pitt to compete with the top private universities. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) Related article Point Park College is now a university

But he told the Pitt board of trustees yesterday that it's hard to remain competitive when private schools have more money. He said Pitt undergraduate tuition is about $20,000 a year less than that at top private universities in the state, such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania.

He said state support, which has been falling, isn't enough to fill the money gap, and that private universities have larger endowments.

Nordenberg said that "sustaining quality and maintaining our momentum does require an increase to our tuition revenue stream."

So yesterday, the board approved a plan that calls for new Pitt undergraduates to pay more than those already enrolled. In the first year, it is expected to generate about $3.4 million.

Pitt will set a base tuition in June for next fall. Current students will pay that base fee, but first-time, in-state undergraduates who are full-time students on the Oakland campus will pay an extra $1,000 for the school year and out-of-state first-timers there will pay $500. In following years, the higher rate will be the base for the students as they continue as well as for each incoming student.

There will also be a surcharge of $200 for all new in-state, full-time undergraduates at the Johnstown, Greensburg and Bradford campuses, but not at the Titusville campus.

Some of the money from the increases will go for financial aid.

Pitt tuition currently is $8,614 a year for full-time undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Oakland campus.

While they won't have to pay the surcharge, current students aren't protected against any tuition increase because next year's base tuition hasn't been set yet.

Nordenberg said Pitt's mission is to deliver programs of a "quality comparable to the best private universities but to deliver those programs at substantially lower cost."

He said Pitt was "never structured to be the lowest cost alternative of higher education in Pennsylvania." He said that role is played by community colleges and the State System of Higher Education.

The board also approved a $1.37 billion operating budget for 2003-04, even though the state has not yet approved Pitt's appropriation. The budget is based on the governor's recommended amount of $163.3 million, which is a 5 percent reduction.

Nordenberg also told the board that this fall the university admitted the "best freshman class yet" on the Oakland campus. It had 17,400 applicants, compared with 7,800 for fall 1995. In addition, 43 percent of accepted freshmen who had paid deposits are from the top 10 percent of their high school classes, compared with 21 percent in fall 1995.

There are 17,413 undergraduates, including 2,914 freshmen, on the Oakland campus.

He said competition for medical school also increased by 13 percent over last year, resulting in more than 4,800 applications for 150 spots.

He also said research funding has increased to $510 million during the past year, compared with $230 million in 1995. He estimated the research helps to support 16,000 local jobs.

In other business, the property and facilities committee reported that Pitt has purchased the Loeffler Building, 3601-03 Forbes Ave. at Meyran Avenue, for $1.9 million, and two buildings at 3815 Forbes Ave. at Bouquet Street, for $1.675 million.

In addition, the board agreed to borrow up to $150 million for various capital projects, including the Biomedical Science Tower 3.

The board created vice chairperson positions and named board members Thomas G. Bigley and Suzanne W. Broadhurst to fill them. It named J. David Barnes as emeritus trustee.

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