SUNY plan will limit tuition hikes: freshmen would be guaranteed the same tuition price for all four years.

The State University of New York system is considering a tuition plan that guarantees students the same tuition price throughout their undergraduate enrollment. The SUNY Tuition Guarantee is meant to protect students and parents from tuition hikes and to give families predictability as they plan for education spending, explains SUNY Chancellor Robert King, who outlined his proposal in January.

King is also asking the legislature for a $600 tuition increase, which would bring the SUNY instate tuition to $4,950. Freshmen enrolled in 2005 will have that amount frozen for their four years of study, or during the duration of their undergraduate degree.

If his plan is approved by the New York State Legislature and Gov. George Pataki, the SUNY system will join only a handful of higher education institutions that have issued such a tuition guarantee.

George Washington University (D.C.), a private university, launched its own fixed tuition program in February 2004. The 2004 freshman class is the first enrolled under the plan. GWU's plan guarantees freshman the same tuition price for up to five years of undergraduate study, and also promises students the same amount of financial aid during their enrollment.

Is the new tuition program drawing students to GWU? It is hard to say, although Tracy Schario, director of Media Relations notes that the incoming freshman class was a record 2,600.