“The State System universities will continue to provide Pennsylvania residents access to a high-quality, affordable education,” said Board Chairman F. Eugene Dixon Jr. “We are committed to controlling our costs while improving our efficiency to benefit our students.

“A modest tuition increase is needed to enable our universities to make necessary campus improvements, to expand student services and to continue to develop new and innovative programs that will respond to the changing demands of Commonwealth employers.”

Tuition at the State System universities remains the lowest among all four-year institutions in Pennsylvania. Students, alumni and employers consistently give high marks to the quality of education offered by the schools.

The resident undergraduate tuition rate is uniform across the System.

Nonresident undergraduate tuition will range from $5,688 to $9,480 next year, depending on a variety of factors, including the university and program in which a student enrolls. Nine of the 14 universities will offer lower nonresident tuition rates to some students. They are California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven and Mansfield. In all cases, nonresident students will pay at least 1½ times the tuition charged to resident students.

The Board’s nonresident tuition policy allows universities to propose reduced nonresident tuition rates in order to help them attract more out-of-state students to campuses with excess capacity. In order to lower its nonresident tuition, a school must show that by doing so it actually will increase its overall revenue. The normal nonresident tuition rate is 2½ times the resident rate.

Full-time resident graduate tuition at the System universities will increase by $358 in 2000-01, to $4,138 for the full academic year. Nonresident graduate tuition will increase by $398, to $7,008.

Room and board rates and required fees are determined by each institution’s council of trustees, and vary from campus to campus. The average cost of attending a System university this year, including tuition, room and board and all required fees, was about $8,500. Students spent, on average, another $450 for books and supplies.

“The State System universities remain an outstanding educational value,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “We will continue to offer high quality programs, while constantly striving to ensure we do so at the lowest possible cost.”

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.