"It is good news I hope it stays for four years," said Rick Byers, whose daughter is about to begin college this fall.

It certainly is exciting news for parents like Byers.

His daughter, an incoming freshman at Miami University, isn't thinking too much about money.

"He's paying it so, I don't know," said Rick's daughter, Julia.

She's more concerned about getting the right classes and familiarizing herself with campus. But Rick said the freeze will help alleviate potential debt.

"What it's going to do is let us utilize funds we have without going much into a loan situation," Byers said.

The tuition freeze means Ohio students pay less than $11,500 a year for an education at Miami.
 
Out of state students get a 3.5 percent increase in tuition.  They'll pay a little more than $26,000 annually.

Miami University vice president of finance David Creamer said he hopes this policy helps those struggling to pay for higher education.

"(We've been) communicating with students for some time that there would be a tuition freeze for Ohio residents and felt that short notice of change of that policy would be difficult for families to manage," Creamer said.

Freezing tuition helps students, but it comes at a price. Hundreds of employees were either laid off or their positions just weren't filled.
 
"Eliminated over 200 positions...that's part of how we can do this we wouldn't otherwise be able to keep the cost down," added Creamer.

The tuition freeze was also implemented by other public colleges in the state that are not waiting for an almost certainly grim state budget.

Some of the other schools that have announced in-state tuition freezes include the Unversity of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State University, and Ohio State.

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