Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

USF raises housing, parking permit costs

A decision on tuition rates is postponed.

TAMPA - University of South Florida students will pay more this fall to park and live on campus.

The USF board of trustees on Thursday approved:

A 6 percent increase in housing costs to cover a rise in energy and utility prices and to continue renovations at residence halls.

A $25 parking increase for residential students, who will pay $130 a year for a permit. Affiliate staff, such as those who work at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, will have to pay $20 to $25 more each year for parking.

A new, $100 annual fee for international students. The revenue will help pay the administrative costs of tracking them under a new federal system.

The board postponed setting next year's tuition rates. State lawmakers mandated that undergraduate tuition at the 11 universities go up 7.5 percent next year - the ninth consecutive year tuition has increased.

But individual schools can decide whether to raise tuition 12.5 percent or 15 percent for out-of-state, graduate and professional students. The board will decide on that rate later this summer.