Clemson students could see 'significantly lower' tuition hike
Barker encouraged by Senate budget

Published: Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 6:00 am

By Anna Simon
CLEMSON BUREAU
asimon@greenvillenews.com

CLEMSON -- Any tuition increase at Clemson University this fall could be "significantly lower" than the double-digit hikes of recent years if a state Senate Finance Committee budget proposal is adopted, Clemson President James Barker said Friday.

But speaking to university trustees at Clemson's Madren Center, Barker said it is too early to tell what the final state budget will be.

"We are very encouraged by the work of the Senate Finance Committee," Barker said. "They understand that the surest way to reduce pressure on tuition is to increase state funding."

The Senate proposal includes increases for Clemson's "Academic Road Map," which is Clemson's plan for the future, for Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville and to help rebuild Clemson's public service work that was severely cut in recent state budgets.

It includes one-time money for deferred maintenance and for the "Call Me Mister" program that trains black men to be elementary teachers, Barker said.

It also contains a 3 percent pay increase for employees and maintains the $3 million in support for endowed chairs at the state's three research universities: Clemson, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina, Barker said.

The proposal puts no caps on tuition and leaves the responsibility of setting tuition with the boards of trustees, Barker said.