HARRISBURG -- The University of Pittsburgh is requesting an 8.5 percent increase in state funding next year to stave off big tuition hikes.

Gov. Ed Rendell, meanwhile, has proposed increases of just 2 percent for Pitt and the other three state-related universities -- Penn State, Lincoln and Temple.

If the Legislature doesn't add to that, tuition could increase substantially, administrators from the schools said yesterday during budget hearings before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. They did not estimate how much tuition might go up.

"Two percent just isn't going to keep up with inflation," Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg told the House committee.

Already, state appropriations have lagged behind inflation during the last few years, he said. As a result, Pitt has less buying power now than it did in 2001, he said.

Mr. Nordenberg is requesting $198.5 million in state funding for next year. Last year, he asked for a 10 percent increase and received 4.5 percent for a total of $183 million.

Still, tuition last year increased 6 percent to $11,386 for in-state undergraduates. Eighty percent of the university's 34,574 students are from Pennsylvania.

State funding makes up about 11 percent of Pitt's total budget, which is $1.62 billion this year. The rest comes from tuition, grants and other sources.

The state portion of funding comes from the general fund budget.