July 29, 2003

Board approves $220 tuition increase for 2003-04

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors today approved a $220 increase in resident, undergraduate tuition for the 2003-04 academic year – the smallest increase in three years. The new tuition rate represents a 5 percent increase over the 2002-03 tuition rate.

The Board’s action means a Pennsylvania resident attending full-time at any of the 14 state-owned universities will pay $4,598 tuition for two semesters. The Board left unchanged the $100-a-year instructional technology fee.

Even with the tuition increase, the universities are reducing their budgets by a combined $40 million for 2003-04 to help offset a second straight year of reduced state funding. The state budget signed into law in March reduces the State System’s state appropriation by nearly $22 million in the 2003-04 fiscal year. The 5 percent cut in the System’s appropriation follows a 3 percent reduction in state funding last year.

“Keeping student tuition as low as possible is a priority for the Board of Governors, “said Board Chairman Charles A. Gomulka. “A 5 percent tuition increase is very modest when compared with what other Pennsylvania universities and public university systems across the country are doing. Several universities and university systems have approved tuition increases for next year of 20 percent or more.”

“In order to keep our tuition increase for students this low, we are asking our universities to make some very difficult choices, and to come up with a combined $40 million in budget cuts. The universities are certainly doing their part to help get us through these challenging times.”
“These are extremely difficult fiscal times for the State System and the Commonwealth,” said Chancellor Judy G. Hample. “Despite these challenges, we remain committed to ensuring Pennsylvania students have continued access to an affordable, high-quality educational experience. We will work together with the universities to make certain that happens.”
Negotiations between the Legislature and Rendell Administration over a final budget package have not concluded. System representatives have been talking for weeks with legislators and administration officials in an attempt to get some or all of this year’s funding cuts restored.

The universities have been examining their individual budgets and have identified a variety of potential cost-saving options, including reducing staffing levels through attrition and delays in filling vacancies, increasing class sizes, delaying equipment purchases and postponing facilities projects.

The System, meanwhile, is involved in contract negotiations with the university faculty (APSCUF) and recently participated along with the Commonwealth in negotiations with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union. In both negotiations, the System has been pursuing wage freezes and healthcare cost sharing in order to obtain additional savings.

The State System universities continue to provide the lowest-cost education among all four-year colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. They provide access to many first-generation students – the first members of their families to attend college.

The new tuition rate for resident, undergraduate students will be uniform across the 14 state-owned universities.

Nonresident undergraduate tuition will range from $6,898 to $11,496 next year, depending on a variety of factors, including the university and program in which a student enrolls.

Full-time resident, graduate tuition at the System universities will increase by $264 in 2003-04, to $5,518 for the full academic year. Nonresident, graduate tuition will increase by $422, to $8,830.

Full-time resident students, both undergraduate and graduate, will pay the $100 instructional technology fee. Full-time nonresident students will pay $150. Part-time resident students and those attending summer classes will pay a $25 fee; the part-time and summer fee for nonresidents will remain at $38.

Roomand 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 in 2003-04, including tuition, room and board and all required fees for both semesters, will be around $10,750.

With more than 101,000 students, the Pennsylvania 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. More than 375,000 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. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.