PA Headlines 7/22/21
YORK – PennLive is reporting… A Penn State trustees committee has recommended the highest single-year increase in student tuition rates in more a decade. The increases moved by the board’s Finance, Business and Capital Planning Committee today – which still needs passage by the full board Friday – calls for a 5% hike in rates for students attending Penn State’s University Park campus in State College this fall, and 2% increases through the university’s chain of branch campuses around the state.
It is the second straight year of tuition increases for Penn State students after three years of tuition freezes, a step that some had predicted based on flat on funding from state government for the 2022-23 fiscal year all the major “state-related” universities: Penn State, Pitt and Temple. If Penn State’s full board adopts the proposed rates Friday, each of the schools will have raised tuition for the new school year.
University leaders claimed Friday that increased financial aid packages should eliminate any net out-of-pocket increases for students coming from households with annual incomes of $75,000 or less. Penn State’s budget for 2022-23 includes an additional $14 million for financial aid to offset the proposed tuition increase for those students, though they have to have filed all appropriate financial aid forms to get it. The committee approval came on a 11-1 vote, with alumni-elected trustee Anthony Lubrano dissenting.
The last time the university raised tuition by more than 5% for in-state students was 2010-11, when the increase was 5.9%. Rates for out-of-state students will jump even more in the new academic year: By 6% at University Park; and 3% at the Commonwealth Campuses. The increase takes tuition for a full year for a Pennsylvania resident freshman at the main campus to $19,286. Tuition costs for juniors and seniors will range from $20,806 to $24,740, depending upon their majors.
