Administrators said they would not reverse a decision to increase annual tuition for freshmen entering in August to about $145.

Also, every time the schools increase tuition, they suffer decreases in enrollment, officials said.

The Rutgers Board of Governors yesterday voted to increase tuition for the state university's 48,000 graduate and undergraduate students by 5.8 percent.

Although Princeton will not increase tuition, it said it will raise the price of room and board by 19 percent, to $10,980.

Persistent student protests outside Mr. Dobelle's future offices have started a public debate over a plan to increase tuition.

State colleges, which typically charge much less than private colleges, have moved to increase tuition and fees.

The presidents have asked the trustees to allow them to increase tuition by up to $300 a year, to as much as $2,800.

Among the publicly supported four-year colleges, the State University of New York would increase tuition, now about $2,500 a year, by as much as $1,800.

The coalition also issued a call to block a state plan to increase tuition by 60 percent over the next several years at all the state's public colleges.

Currently, the power to increase tuition and fees lies with the legislature.