Penn Tuition

Tuition at the, University of Pennsylvania will rise from a current $3790 to $4125 for the 1976-77 academic year to protect a balanced budget for fiscal 1977, a university spokesman said yesterday.

Donald P. Sheehan, secretary of the corporation, said yesterday that the university suffered a $3.5 million deficit in 1975 but is now operating on a balanced budget and trying to preserve that status.

A report by Martin Meyerson, president of the university, said that the institution was in serious financial straits even with its successful fund raising and it was taking decisive action to deal with financial problems.

Tuition at Penn is still among the lowest in the Ivy League but total costs, including room and board, are close to the Ivy average, Sheehan said.