Students at Millersville University and Pennsylvania's 14 other state-owned universities will pay $181 more per year in tuition costs during the 2008-09 academic year.

The new tuition rate for full-time resident undergraduate students starting in the fall will be $5,358 for two semesters, a 3.5 percent increase, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education announced Thursday.

Millersville University is part of the state system. Tuition is set by the system's board of governors.

Salaries, health care and utility costs are the main reasons tuition was raised, according to Kenn Marshall, a spokesman for the state system.

"It's a little less than we need to cover the budget," Marshall said. "But I think it's the best we can do. It was as far as the board was willing to go in terms of an increase."

Even so, the tuition hike will not cover all the system's additional expenses. Marshall said state-owned universities will have to cut a combined $7 million to balance their budgets.

Last year, PASSHE spent $725.7 million on salaries, $266.5 million on health care and $245 million on services, supplies and utilities.

In the 2008-09 school year, those numbers are expected to rise to $743.5 million, $280 million and $265 million respectively, Marshall said.

Dearstyne said he doesn't know which areas of MU's budget will be cut, if any.

"I don't imagine that we will have significant reductions," Dearstyne said.

To curb energy costs, Marshall said PASSHE is taking steps such as purchasing joint energy plans for universities.

Dearstyne said he believes the tuition increase is fair.

"As an institution, we believe it's reasonable, considering current cost pressures," Dearstyne said.

Marshall, meanwhile, praised the board for it efforts to trim spending.

"Yes, our tuition is going up, but there is evidence that the board is making a significant effort to keep costs down," Marshall said.

Last year, the state system raised tuition for in-state students by $139, or 2.75 percent, which brought tuition to $5,177 for the school year.

The annual tuition for out-of-state undergraduates, which also is increasing this academic year, will range from $8,038 to $13,396, depending on factors such as their major.

The Board of Governors also raised the tuition technology fee for undergraduate and graduate students from $175 to $181.

The technology fee for nonresidents will increase from $264 to $273 a year.

All funds raised by the technology tuition fee are used directly by the university to enhance technology in the classroom, Dearstyne said.

Besides Millersville, the state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Other public universities also have approved recent tuition increases.

Penn State University students will see increases of around 5 to 6 percent. The exact percentage will depend on the campus they attend and how many years they've been enrolled, among other factors.

Tuition for resident freshmen and sophomores at main campus will rise by 5.9 percent, to just more than $13,000 annually, while both resident and nonresident students at Penn State branch campuses will see a 5.3 percent increase in tuition, with totals differing by location.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

E-mail: mpennino@lnpnews.com