Capitol Bureau

ALBANY — State University of New York students won't be slapped with a mid-year tuition hike.

But the chance remains they'll be asked to pay more for the next academic year, as SUNY officials did not dismiss talk Tuesday of a possible tuition increase that would take effect in the fall.

With the state facing a budget deficit that may reach as high as $10 billion, speculation has been rampant in Albany that lawmakers will raise SUNY tuition for in-state residents, which for the last seven years has been kept at $3,400 per year.

Gathering Tuesday in Albany for its monthly meeting, the SUNY Board of Trustees made no mention of the issue.

But when asked after the meeting whether a tuition hike was being considered for the 2003-2004 academic year, SUNY Board of Directors Chairman Thomas Egan said: "It's still early. Our budget now is $7.2 billion and five years ago it was $5 billion. I'm not saying that we wouldn't want to have additional support for the colleges, but I don't see any crisis on the horizon."

When it came to addressing talk about a mid-year tuition increase, however, Egan was more direct.

"I have had no conversations with the chancellor or any trustees about a mid-year tuition hike," he said, adding that as board chairman he would have been part of any discussion concerning the issue.

Asked whether Egan was essentially ruling out a mid-year increase, SUNY spokesman Dave Henahan said, "That's right."

Though that news brought a sigh of relief to higher-education watchdogs, the possibility that tuition will be raised for the next academic year has student groups across the state gearing up for a battle.

Miriam Kramer of the New York Public Interest Research Group said 21 student governments and more than 700 student groups within the SUNY system have signed petitions opposing a tuition hike.

"A tuition increase should be the absolute last resort," Kramer said. "The state first needs to explore other ways to shift the burden, including tax increases."

Assembly Higher Education Committee Chairman Ed Sullivan agreed.

"The state does have a fiscal crisis ... and it doesn't have the money to operate," he said. "But this is a statewide problem, and it's not something that should just be dumped on college students."

A state Senate spokesman declined comment, saying it was premature to speculate on what will happen. SUNY Chancellor Robert King, meanwhile, was out of state and unavailable for comment Tuesday.

The last time the state faced a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit was 1995, and SUNY was hit particularly hard. To rein in spending and generate revenue, state lawmakers raised SUNY tuition by $750 and cut a number of student services.

Asked whether he was concerned that history would repeat itself, Egan said, "I wasn't on the board at the time of the last tuition hike so I can't compare."