COLUMBUS Ohio — The cost to attend an Ohio university would be among the lowest in the nation in 10 years under goals outlined Monday to reverse the state’s trend of high tuition and lower-than-average college attendance.

Lowering the costs for students would give more Ohioans access to higher education, one of the three prongs of a 10-year plan by Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut that also seeks to keep more college graduates in Ohio and attract them from out of state. The crux of the plan is to revive Ohio’s economy in an era that is demanding more and more skilled workers.

The goal of drastically lowering what students pay for college depends partially on the state committing more dollars to higher education in the coming years, something it had recently failed to do until a two-year tuition freeze was implemented in the current budget.

Ohio currently ranks 39th in the nation in the amount of state money it puts towards higher education on a per student basis. The comparatively low state expenditure is one of the factors that has led to Ohio having some of the highest tuition rates nationwide for its public colleges and universities.

Attending Ohio State University as an in-state student currently costs about $8,700 for tuition and general fees, while attending the University of Georgia, for example, costs about $2,800.

To reach the national average on per student expenditure, Ohio would have to spend about $420 million more based on current year figures. The 10-year plan calls on the state to boost spending in many of the years ahead to reach the goal.

“It’s clearly possible for the state in good years to help us move toward this goal,” said Fingerhut.

Budget constraints in tough economic times like the projected minimum $733 million deficit that Gov. Ted Strickland says exists could challenge lawmakers in their attempt to increase higher education funding in future years. But Strickland and lawmakers have decided to preserve the current tuition freeze when proposing cuts to fill the projected deficit.