The Slippery Rock University Council of Trustees voted Thursday to recommend a 2% tuition increase for the 2022-23 school year, which will be considered at the quarterly business meeting Friday.

According to Carrie Birckbichler, chief financial and data officer, the increase would be to maintain a high quality of education for students at the university.

“We don't want to have to cut services,” Birckbichler said. “We want to maintain financial aid to help students attend and maintain a quality education at Slippery Rock.”

The total tuition and fees cost increase for two semesters would amount to $183 dollars.

Birckbichler said this increase comes as a result of cost increases and dealing with declining enrollment.

Birckbichler added that the last tuition increase was at 3% in the 2018-19 school year. She said they initially submitted a proposal to the board of governors in Harrisburg for a 1% increase and that they'll be asking for approval of an additional 1% increase.

According to a chart presented by Birckbichler at the meeting, SRU is the second most affordable university in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education.

President William J. Behre said the university is committed to affordability and will not be looking to decrease its financial aid.

“We're sticking a good chunk of this money back into the students,” Behre said. “The (financial aid) trend line has been increasing without tuition increases.”

If the vote to approve the tuition increase doesn't pass at Friday's meeting, Birckbichler said the council will have to start looking at nonessential university programs to cut.

“We'd have to ask what programs are not essential and can they be eliminated,” Birckbichler said.

Behre said the university would have to consider cutting programs that may be deeply valued.

“We'd have to look at things that are important that we value deeply that we could be rid of and still be SRU,” Behre said. “Possibly, we backtrack financial aid to what it was when I started. It would not be an SRU I would want to be president of.”

Of 11 council members, the motion carried to recommend the 2% tuition increase with two in favor and one opposed. The other eight members abstained from voting.