The Penn State Board of Trustees will vote Friday whether to approve a 3.39 percent increase for in-state students attending the University Park campus. It would be an overall hike of $264 per semester. The increase for out-of-state students would be 2.87 percent, or $400 per semester.
Trustees were briefed Thursday on the proposed increases during the Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning. The tuition hike, if approved, will fulfill a commitment to Gov. Tom Corbett and Pennsylvania legislators to keep tuition rates as low as possible in exchange for level state appropriations.
The 2013-14 tuition increase would be the second lowest percentage increase at Penn State since 1967.
“Before considering an increase to tuition and fees, we identified expense reductions of $35.9 million and delayed planned budget increases for the capital improvement plan and deferred maintenance. The unavoidable cost increases that could not be funded by internal budget reductions and re-allocations are what constitute this increase,” says Penn State President Rodney Erickson. “We remain committed to keeping Penn State’s tuition increase at its lowest possible rate without sacrificing the quality of our academic programs.”
The proposed aggregated rate represents four levels of possible increases across Penn State’s 19 undergraduate campuses. Tuition for in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students will increase less than two percent at 15 of Penn State’s campuses and four other campuses – Altoona, Berks, Erie and Harrisburg – could see an increase of 2.45 percent, or $160 per semester for in-state students.
At Penn State Abington, Brandywine, Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Schuylkill, Worthington Scranton and York, tuition is proposed to increase 1.85 percent, or $116 per semester for in-state. Students at Penn State Mont Alto and Wilkes-Barre, and the western Pennsylvania campuses of Penn State Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny and New Kensington have a proposed increase of 0.75 percent, or $47 per semester, for in-state students.
Tuition costs for students at Penn State Shenango are expected to remain unchanged.
“We continue to acknowledge the impact of adverse demographics of high school-age students particularly in western Pennsylvania, while recognizing that adult students in Pennsylvania may find Penn State of interest to them as they consider changing careers or furthering their education,” Erickson says. “With this in mind, we would like to offer lower rate increases at those campuses, and no increase at Penn State Shenango, to make access to a Penn State education available to as many prospective and current students in those regions as possible.”
At all campuses, the information technology fee is expected to increase $4 a semester, to $248. Among all campuses under the proposal, the student activities fee and student facilities fee will most commonly rise by $2 to $87 per semester, and by $4, to $116 per semester, respectively.
A complete listing of Penn State’s tuition rate schedules and fees can be found by clicking HERE.
