INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Commission for Higher Education recommended Thursday that undergraduate tuition increases at Indiana universities should not exceed 5 percent.

The nonbinding recommendation was made at the behest of the General Assembly, which passed a two-year state budget Tuesday, setting the level of state funding for higher education.

ICHE said its recommendation was based on "months of analysis and dialogue between members of the commission, institutional representatives and policy makers."

The recommendation was based on five principles: funding adequacy, access and affordability, system efficiency, market forces and productivity, ICHE Associate Commissioner Haley Glover said.

The state's universities have been pinched in recent years by declining tax revenue, and the commission said it sought to balance that with a need to keep tuition increases and fees to a minimum.

"I encourage every institution to use the other means available -- including finding efficiencies, reducing costs and seeking other revenue sources -- before turning to students and their families for additional revenue," said Mike Smith, commission chair.

Here's a breakdown of increase recommendations by university for both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years:

Ball State -- 0-4 percent increase

Indiana State -- 0-3.5 percent increase

Indiana University -- 0-5 percent increase

Ivy Tech -- 0-4 percent increase

Purdue -- 0-5 percent increase

Southern Indiana -- 0-5 percent increase

Vincennes -- 0-3.5 percent increase