Slippery Rock University gained more control over tuition rates after the state system changed one of its policies on Thursday.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's Board of Governors adopted a change to allow individual schools to develop tuition plans, although the board retains final approval authority.

Also, Slippery Rock and other PASSHE member universities now will announce tuition in April instead of July, giving students a few more months' notice about increases. The policy calls for tuition to be tentatively established two years at a time.

SRU President Bill Behre said the change allows SRU and other schools to consider their individual circumstances when deciding future tuitions.

“In a system where we've shared with other schools, we've been given an important step in our autonomy at the same time,” Behre said. “What this does is allows us to tailor our prices to our region.”

Behre said out of preparation the university had been working with a company to analyze the pricing landscape.

“In order to price properly, you really need to understand not only the financial state of the students who are here, but also those who got accepted and chose not to come,” Behre said.

Behre said the university had moved cautiously to develop a pricing plan in case the policy change fell through.

“We were already starting down that road,” Behre said. “We'll just hit all four cylinders.”

Behre said he is confident the university will have a pricing structure plan prepared for fall of 2020, which is the earliest any school can have plans submitted and approved by the state system.

He said administrators are trying to make a multi-year plan that would include benchmark goals to help provide consistency to their plan and make the voting process easier for PASSHE. He said he wants to be as transparent as possible about the university's goals, too.

“I think the beauty of this model is it forces folks to articulate their goals,” Behre said. “If we don't hit them, people can ask why. I've never been afraid of that.”

Behre said the transition to the new policy should be easier for SRU, as it has been successful for years.

SRU trustees reviewed the budget at last month's meeting and opted not to increase rates and fees for next year. This year's budget was set at $142,433,238.

Slippery Rock University also has a 6-year graduation rate of 67 percent as opposed to the PASSHE average of 60 percent.

A 6-year graduation rate considers part-time students and students who graduate late, while a four-year rate tracks only full-time students who graduate on time or early.

Behre said higher graduation rates are proof of their product.

“At the schools that are troubled, they're troubled that they can't keep their students.”

“There's an old adage: It's much easier to keep a customer than gain a new one,” Behre said. “My predecessors, they have done a great job at hitting the big spots, the big reasons you lose students.”

Behre said administrators constantly work through new data that points them toward new goals and solutions. He said he wants to continue improving graduation at the same rate as he improves enrollment rates. He said they are both equally important.

“Retaining students is important,” Behre said. “There's room to improve, and we're working to improve it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.