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Students at Portland State University and Oregon's other public universities will see their tuition go down a tad, then stay there for almost two years.

(Motoya Nakamura / The Oregonian)

In-state tuition at Oregon's public universities will drop about 1.5 percent in January, then stay flat through spring 2015.

The tuition freeze for 2014-15 will be the first in 14 years.

The reduction and freeze in the cost of attending college are the result of

in its special session this week.

Limiting a senior medical deduction and raising some corporate taxes helped raise about $200 million more for the state's current two-year budget. And lawmakers directed that $25 million of that be used to lower and then freeze tuition.

Lawmakers

his year and next year.

expressed gratitude to lawmaker and Gov. John Kitzhaber for helping end the steep increase in tuition students have experienced year after year.

She said that will help "thousands of Oregon undergraduate students attend, stay and succeed in our universities."

-- Betsy Hammond