Despite a national trend of decreasing out-of-state student enrollments because of rising out-of-state tuition costs, the number of non-Pennsylvania residents at Penn State since 2004 has not seen a significant drop.

According to a Jan. 27 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, public colleges across the nation are raising out-of-state tuition to close budget gaps. However, this method may be backfiring at schools like University of Colorado at Boulder, where 6.5 percent fewer out-of-state students enrolled last fall due to increased tuition rates, according to the article.

Penn State spokesman Geoff Rushton said Penn State's non-Pennsylvania student enrollment numbers have not changed significantly over the past few years.

In 2003, out-of-state students made up 25.1 percent of University Park's population, compared to 25.7 percent in 2004 and 25.1 percent last fall.

Out-of-state tuition, which was $9,535 at University Park in fall 2003, rose to $10,168 in fall 2004. Last fall, it was $11,114.

Rushton said that out-of-state enrollment figures include international students, whose numbers have decreased slightly because of post-Sept. 11 travel restrictions and improvements at universities overseas.

He said Penn State is forced to raise out-of-state tuition because of a lack of state support.

"Out-of-state students pay more because taxpayers do not support them as they do in-state students,"

Rushton said. "This practice would be the same at most state-owned or state-related institutions in the nation."

Rushton said the increase in out-of-state tuition from 2004-05 to 2005-06 is based on a formula approved by the Board of Trustees in 2002.

"[The formula] sets the dollar-figure tuition increase for out-of-state students at 1.5 times the increase for in-state students, reflecting more appropriately the increases in the actual costs of instruction," Rushton said. "As a percentage, the tuition increase for out-of-state students from 2004-05 to 2005-06 was actually slightly less than in-state [students]."

Some out-of-state students cited rising tuition costs as a concern, but most said they would not consider transferring to a school in their home state.

"It's frustrating, but it's a national concern," said Ashley Pierce (sophomore-kinesiology), who is a Minnesota resident.

Andrew Petillo (freshman-marketing) said he is considering becoming a resident assistant to lessen the burden of out-of-state tuition costs.

"Tuition is high already, and it's costing my parents and me more and more," Petillo, a New Jersey resident, said. "I made the decision to come to Penn State for many reasons, but the cost was definitely a negative factor."

Michael Beck (sophomore-finance, French and international studies), who is from New York, said out-of-state tuition is an irritating issue.

"I feel that the majority of Penn State students are from in-state, so it's a rip off," Beck said. "It's such a discrepancy that it's starting to become unfair. I like Penn State, but I do hope tuition stops increasing each year."

Katie McCormick (sophomore-aerospace engineering) said she was not aware of the out-of-state tuition rate until a friend recently informed her.

"I actually wasn't upset at all when I found out," McCormick said. "Some of the other colleges I was looking at in New York, where I'm from, cost even more. I think the tuition is reasonable, and Penn State offers enough to make it worth it."