Penn State University and the University of Pittsburgh yesterday raised main campus tuition by nearly 6 percent and by half that amount at their branches in what both schools called their smallest increases in recent years.

The rates for the 2006-07 academic year approved by trustees of both schools are significantly smaller than double-digit increases of a few years back, though for main campus students, the new rates once again easily outpaced inflation.

It means that over five years, the tuition paid by lower division students on Penn State's main campus has risen by 65 percent to $11,646, and the base rate at Pitt's main campus has climbed by 48 percent to $10,246.

Some undergraduates at both universities weren't happy to learn their bill is going up yet again.

"I don't see why they need to do it. They already have enough money," said Pitt main campus senior Stephen Szakelyhidi, 25, of Bellevue.

"Tuition costs are just astronomical ... and it's not just Pitt," agreed Carrie Benson, 20, a Pitt junior from Erie.

Penn State President Graham Spanier and Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg cited a desire to keep their campuses as affordable as they can for residents in a state whose public universities already are the nation's most expensive. But officials at their schools also cited the critical need to invest in academic programs and student life initiatives.

Internal cost-saving efforts helped moderate the tuition increase this year, officials at both schools said. So did a higher-than-expected boost in state funding approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell as part of the new state budget.

"I pledged to legislative leaders this spring that Penn State would apply 100 percent of any educational and general appropriation increase over the governor's [original] budget proposal to reducing the planned tuition increase," Dr. Spanier said. "The rate schedule fully honors that pledge."

Mr. Nordenberg said public campuses "clearly are trying to do everything in their power to increase access, and to respond to the needs of moderate- and low-income students."

Systemwide, 34,000 Pitt students will feel the 5.9 percent increase on the Oakland campus or the 3 percent rise on the school's regional campuses in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown and Titusville.

Under Pitt's differential tuition system, the price for in-state main campus students admitted before fall 2004 will increase $570, making tuition $10,246 for the 2006-07 academic year. Students admitted in fall 2004 or afterward will see a $632 increase to $11,368.

Out-of-state students admitted prior to fall 2004 will see their main-campus rate increase by 3 percent, or $586, to $20,156. Out-of-state students admitted in fall 2004 or afterward will see a $602 increase, to $20,686.

At Pitt's regional campuses, the in-state base four-year rate for students admitted before fall 2004 will rise by $290 to $9,966. Students admitted in 2004 or afterward will see a $296 increase to $10,184. Out-of-state students on those campuses will see no increase.

Arthur Ramicone, Pitt vice chancellor for budget and controller, said the increase was the smallest since 2001 on the main campus and "the lowest increase in over 30 years at the regional campuses."

He said financial aid budgets will be increased by the same percentage as the tuition.

Speaking with reporters afterward, Mr. Nordenberg was asked his reaction to the way that deep tuition discounting by private colleges over the years has left some of those campuses not much more expensive than the sticker price at some public campuses. For instance, Chatham College charges $24,014 in tuition, but students on average pay $14,000 after discounts.

Mr. Nordenberg said he was unfamiliar with Chatham's price structure but said in general, it's an unfair comparison because public campuses provide aid, too. "In the end people are making their judgments grounded in their perceptions of not only price, but quality and program scope," he said.

At Penn State, in-state students at all levels will see a 5.6 percent increase on the main campus. Both in and out-of-state tuition will rise by 2.9 percent at its 19 primarily undergraduate campuses around the state.

Under the new rate approved by trustees meeting in Philadelphia, resident freshmen and sophomores at the University Park campus will pay $11,646 in yearly tuition, a $622 increase.

Tuition rates for resident juniors and seniors at University Park will range from $11,436 to $15,032, depending on their majors and on whether they were admitted before or after summer 2003.