Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union  a subcommittee of the State University of New York June 13, approved a $200 hike starting in the fall. The decision would increase tuition at the system’s 29 four-year campuses to $6,870. Recipients of the Excelsior Scholarship, however, will not be affected. The only dissenting vote on the increase came from student trustee Michael Braun, who attends the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs in Albany. "We are a public system and we must remain accessible to all New Yorkers,” Braun said. SUNY increased its rates by $200 last year. Tuition was frozen for the 2016-17 school year following student protests over previous increases. SUNY trustee Cary Staller this week argued even with the increase the system's rates were competitive with other state schools. The trustees also agreed to apply the in-state rate to students from Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands displaced by hurricanes Irma and Maria. The increase must be approved June 14 by the full SUNY board. Read the full story in the Times Union.