ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Tuition is going up for students at Minnesota's state universities.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities' Board of Trustees approved a budget plan Wednesday. Under the plan, tuition will climb an average of $233 this fall at the seven state universities, to just over $7,000 a year.

Reports say it's the first tuition hike at the four-year state universities since 2012, when tuition was frozen under a deal with state lawmakers.

Chancellor Steven Rosenstone proposed what he called the "modest increase," which averages 3.4 percent, after lawmakers balked at his request to fund a full tuition freeze.

But Rosenstone says the budget freezes tuition at the 24 community and technical colleges for another year, as mandated by the Legislature. The average rate has not changed since 2012.

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