BLOOMSBURG -- The Pennsylvania System of Higher Education approved a three percent tuition increase for the 2012/2013 school year.
The increase means full time resident undergraduate students will be paying $188 more a year.
"$188 isn't too bad, but it's still an increase, so it's going to have an effect," said Trisha Grayeski, a Bloomsburg student from Mount Carmel.
This is the fifth time in eight years the increase in tuition has been at or below the rate of inflation, according to state officials. They said Monday it shows their commitment to keep state education affordable.
"That was one of the main reasons we looked here, especially, but also for the athletics and the academics, it had to be the right package, but it definitely had to be affordable," said Tracy Gerstenfield, whose daughter is going to be a freshman at Bloomsburg University.
"It was a lot easier to go here for $12,000, $14,000 a year rather than going out of state for $25,000 a year," said Jack Donson, a Bloomsburg senior from Dingmans Ferry.
Some people Newswatch 16 spoke with said they are concerned about tuition increases every year making even state tuition too expensive.
"I don't know, I don't think it's that bad but I feel like they keep raising it. If you say it's not that much now, but next year they raise it again and then they raise it again," said Alyssa Hoy, a Bloomsburg freshman from Lock Haven.
"Oh, it's brutal, I mean our kids are going to be in debt for a long time. Our biggest fear is when they graduate in today's economy, we're going to be in debt, they're going to be in debt," said Fred Gerstenfield, whose daughter whose daughter will be a freshman at Bloomsburg.
The state tuition increase applies to all state-owned universities including Lock Haven, Mansfield and East Stroudsburg.