COLUMBUS — The deal between public universities and Gov. Bob Taft to limit tuition increases for one year might stir up support for reinstating a permanent fee cap, said lawmakers who support a cap.

        “If we learned anything from all this, it was a mistake to lift them,” Sen. Kevin Coughlin said Wednesday of tuition hike limits the state imposed until last year.

        The Legislature eliminated the cap after refusing to increase the higher education budget.

        Several schools then raised tuition at midyear, and two said they were considering charging certain groups of students, such as first-year students, more than others in the fall.

        Mr. Taft then threatened to push lawmakers to reinstate the cap.

        On Tuesday the governor and the Inter-University Council, made up of presidents from the 13 state-supported universities, announced a “gentleman's agreement” to keep increases below 10 percent for current students. For incoming students, most schools could charge an additional $300 and Ohio State would be able to add on $475.

        “My preference is to give flexibility to the universities,” Mr. Taft said Wednesday while meeting with governors in Washington, D.C. “Each one is different, and a cap affects different universities in different ways.

        “We asked them to show restraint, which they are showing, and in return, we will not push for caps.”

        The deal covers only the 2002-2003 school year.

        Mr. Coughlin, a Republican from Cuyahoga Falls who sponsored a bill in the Senate to permanently cap tuition hikes, said Mr. Taft's compromise will make it difficult to gain support to get a permanent cap in place this year but sets the stage for a cap to be reimposed next year.

        Rep. Chris Redfern, a Democrat from Port Clinton who last week introduced a similar bill in the House, said support won't exist this year in part because the Legislature is hesitant to pass controversial bills during an election year.

        And, he said, time is running out to enact a bill for the fall because university boards of trustees already are improving the increases.

        The universities all said Wednesday that they will urge their boards of trustees to stay within the agreement's guidelines.

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