The full Board of Trustees will meet June 22 at 10:30 a.m. to discuss and approve the University budget for the next fiscal year. Depending on the outcome of budget discussions next week by a legislative conference committee, USC is prepared and likely to raise tuition by 10.4 percent on the Columbia campus and by a similar amount at the regional campuses and at USC Aiken and USC Spartanburg.

The University faces a 13.5 percent cut in state appropriations for 2001–2002, or nearly $29 million for the entire University ($20.9 million for USC Columbia alone). The University, along with other state agencies, also absorbed a 1 percent cut (about $1.5 million) late in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

"This has been an extraordinarily difficult year in the state budget cycle," President Palms said. "But I'm proud of the way the University has responded to the crisis."

University administrators have outlined plans for budget reductions in all units on campus, which, coupled with the tuition increase, will lessen the impact of the state appropriations cut. Part of the appropriations for higher education in 2001–2002 likely will include one-time funds of about $7.2 million.

Provost Odom is chairing a Strategic Directions and Initiatives Committee that will examine all aspects of the University for future budget considerations. That committee plans to issue a report in December.