FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO):  Indiana’s public colleges and universities are slated to increase tuition and fees over the next few years.  Some reports indicate that the increases could be up to 4.9% per year despite pushback from some state lawmakers and budget officials.

According to Inside Indiana Business, representatives from Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education (CHE) told the State Budget Committee last week that if tuition and fees must go up, the increase should be no greater than 3.5% each year.

Price hikes at six Indiana institutions will be at or below CHE’s target as commissioner Chris Lowery also emphasized that at Indiana’s public four-year colleges, in-state tuition and mandatory fee rates fell by an average of 2.1% annually over the last decade, the sixth largest decline in the nation.