*Pending approval in spring 2008

While most students were busy preparing for final exams Thursday, the Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase and an array of fee hikes that will increase the cost of attending USF by nearly $6 per credit hour, beginning in the fall of 2008.

The fee and tuition increases – which were a foregone conclusion after they received tentative approval from a BOT subcommittee in November – came just hours before the chancellor of Florida’s universities forecasted budget shortfalls that amounted to $200 million for state universities already stretched thin by about $100 million in budget cuts during the summer.

The BOT approved a fee jump of $2.10 per credit hour for undergraduates with $1.35 increase in student access fees and $.75 bump in a transportation fee. They also approved a tuition increase of $3.68 per credit hour.

Of the $1.35 student access fee increase, 37 cents will go toward activity and service fees that fund Student Government. SG officials said the added money will cover increased operating costs for the new Marshall Student Center and improvements at campus. The remaining 98 cents will go to Athletics, which will put the money toward Sun Dome renovations, student seating at football games and athletic scholarships.

Money garnered through the adjusted transportation fee will go toward replacing old Bull Runner buses and improving bus service.

In Fall 2008, the cost of a degree could rise more under a new state law that allows a 15 percent increase in tuition at USF and the three other large, four-year state schools – the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida and Florida State University. Florida has second-lowest tuition in the nation and is nearly dead last in spending per student.