UPEI is raising tuition this summer. (CBC)

Tuition is going up at the University of Prince Edward Island, it was announced Friday.

Fees at the Charlottetown institution will rise by 3.2 per cent. That works out to $15 per course, or $150 more per year for a full-time student.

The tuition increase is part of a $95-million budget approved Thursday night by the university's board of governors.

Fees will also rise for international students, along with increases to the fees students pay for administration and to access the athletic facilities.

UPEI said the increase is due to the difficult financial pressures it expects to face in the coming years.

The university said it is bracing for lean years ahead because of the struggling global economy and declining enrolment among Island high-school students.

It also cited a five per cent increase in energy costs and a smaller-than-hoped-for increase in government funding.

Lone dissenter

The new president of the student union was the only member of the board of governors who voted against the budget and the tuition increase, which will kick in on July 1.

Rob Livingstone said many students are already struggling financially.

"Students have to pay for things other than just tuition. Some of them have rent and cellphone bills, perhaps cars and other things," he said Friday.

"Anything that adds on top of that eventually adds to the amount of debt that they might be getting into."

Almost 700 students are set to graduate from UPEI Saturday.