READING -- Pennsylvania's funding for the Hershey Medical Center compares poorly to other states' allocations for public university medical schools, Penn State officials said yesterday.

Hershey ranks 74th among the nation's medical schools in funding, University President Bryce Jordan told the Board of Trustees' Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Advisory Committee.

Fuel and utility price increases, and salary adjustments for faculty and staff cannot be paid for through the University's state appropriation or hospital fees, Jordan said. It would, however, be paid for with an increase in the medical school's tuition if the budget were approved today.

The center's proposed budget would raise the medical school's tuition by $1,000. Under Hershey's proposed budget, in-state students would pay $13,544 while out-of-state student's tuition would be $19,442.

"There's no way that the medical center can improve and grow as it is and depend on hospital reimbursement to support it," Jordan told the board. "We're going to have to request more money for the medical college at Hershey."

C. McCollister Evarts, dean of the College of Medicine and senior vice president for health affairs, said this year's tuition increase is smaller than average.

Hershey Medical School's tuition is lower than tuition at the two other state-related university medical schools in Pennsylvania, but higher than the average at similar institutions nationwide, Jordan said.

State funding accounts for about 10 percent of the medical center's general funds budget, said Trustee Edward Zemprelli, chairman of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Advisory Committee.

Hershey Medical School would like to gain more national visibility and attract out-of-state students, Evarts said. Thirty percent of Hershey's enrollment is currently from out-of-state -- the highest percentage ever, he said.

Evarts said he would like an eventual enrollment distribution of 60 percent in-state and 40 percent out-of-state.