“A tuition increase also is necessary in order to help ensure the Universities have sufficient financial resources to serve their students and the Commonwealth.”

After experiencing an 8 percent cut in funding over the past two years, PASSHE received a boost earlier this month when the Legislature approved and Governor Edward G. Rendell signed a 2004-05 Commonwealth budget that includes the first significant funding increase for PASSHE in four years. PASSHE will receive $433.4 million from the Commonwealth to support its basic operations this year, an increase of $16.2 million, or 3.89 percent more than it received in 2003-04.

However, the 2004-05 state appropriation still is $4 million – or approximately 1 percent – less than the amount PASSHE received in 1999-2000, five years ago. Since then, enrollment has increased by nearly 9,000 students, or almost 10 percent, and costs have continued to rise, including recent double-digit annual increases in health insurance premiums. The cost of providing health insurance coverage to PASSHE employees is expected to increase by $19.3 million this year alone, or $3.1 million more than the increase in the state appropriation.

PASSHE has taken significant steps in recent years to help control rising costs, including negotiating limited employee wage increases and significant changes to health benefits, achieving savings on personnel costs through attrition and delays in filling vacancies, implementing energy savings initiatives and engaging in collaborative purchasing to secure lower prices. Over the past five years, cost reductions and increased operational efficiencies have resulted in nearly $120 million being reallocated to support student academic programs and services.

Even with the increased State appropriation and the cost-control measures that have been implemented, the Universities still would fall $40 million short of their projected revenue needs for 2004-05 without a tuition increase. The Board’s decision to raise tuition by 4.6 percent will generate an additional $27 million next year, meaning the Universities will have to trim their proposed 2004-05 budgets by a combined $13 million to eliminate the shortfall.

“Our Universities continue to face difficult fiscal challenges,” Gomulka said. “We look forward to working with Governor Rendell and the members of the General Assembly to ensure our Universities have the resources necessary to provide the quality education our students deserve.”

The 2004-05 PASSHE tuition rates will continue to provide Pennsylvanians with the most affordable education among all four-year colleges and universities in the Commonwealth.

The resident graduate tuition rate will be $5,772, an increase of $254. Resident undergraduate and graduate students will pay the same $100-a-year technology tuition fee as they have for the last two years. Part-time resident students – undergraduate students taking fewer than 12 credits and graduate students taking fewer than nine credits – and those who attend summer classes will continue to pay a $25 technology tuition fee.

Full-time, nonresident undergraduate tuition will range from $7,216 to $12,026 this year, depending on a variety of factors, including the University and program in which a student enrolls. Nonresident graduate tuition will increase by $406, to $9,236. Full-time nonresident students will continue to pay a $150 technology tuition fee and nonresident, part-time and summer school students will pay the same $38 fee.

All funds raised by the technology tuition fee are used to directly benefit student learning. Universities have used the funds to install new computer labs and to design multi-media classrooms, among other projects.

The Board has increased the amount of performance funding available to the Universities every year since the program’s creation – raising the funding level from $2 million in the first year to nearly $21.7 million, an amount equivalent to 5 percent of PASSHE’s Educational and General Fund appropriation from the Commonwealth, for 2004-05.

PASSHE also will spend $819,000 next year on programs to improve the quality of teaching in Pennsylvania’s primary and secondary schools. The funding comes from a separate $16 million appropriation from the Commonwealth to support special program initiatives.

A total of $619,000 will be used to support programs designed to help increase the number of qualified teachers and other education professionals, especially in urban school districts, and to improve their teaching skills. Another $200,000 will support the final year of a five-year program funded primarily by the National Science Foundation. All 14 PASSHE Universities are involved in the project, which is targeted at improving science and mathematics education in K-12 classrooms. PASSHE received a $5 million grant from NSF to fund the project and is required to match the grant with an additional $1 million, or $200,000 annually.

The rest of the 2004-05 special program initiatives appropriation will go to support the continued development of PASSHE’s integrated information system ($14.9 million) and to fund the Labor Education Institute ($350,000), a cooperative educational venture of PASSHE and labor organizations across the Commonwealth.

In addition to the funding for special program initiatives, the 2004-05 Commonwealth budget also includes $1.5 million for diversity and equal opportunity initiatives and $206,000 to help support the operation of the McKeever Environmental Learning Center, which is operated by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

The state budget also includes a $2.4 million appropriation to partially reimburse PASSHE for a one-time, unexpected assessment levied last year to help the Commonwealth eliminate a deficit in the Pennsylvania Employee Benefits Trust Fund. The Trust Fund provides health care coverage to most state employees, including about 4,000 PASSHE employees who are members of the Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

To help ensure students receive instruction in a quality learning environment, the Commonwealth has renewed its annual commitment to fund $65 million in new PASSHE capital construction projects during the 2004-05 fiscal year. The projects will be in addition to the nearly $150 million in State and University-supported projects currently under construction on PASSHE campuses. The capital spending plan approved by the Board of Governors outlines the specific projects it would like to see funded as part of that commitment. The plan includes new academic facility and infrastructure projects at Bloomsburg, California, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The Governor’s Budget Office will make the final funding decisions.

The Universities also are engaged in a variety of construction and renovation projects involving auxiliary facilities such as residence halls, dining halls and other buildings that support student activities. Auxiliary facility construction projects are funded through facility-generated revenues and student fees, not state dollars.

“PASSHE is and always will be committed to ensuring that our Universities provide students the highest quality educational experience at an affordable cost, and that our Universities remain responsive to the needs of their communities and the Commonwealth,” said Chancellor Judy G. Hample.

With more than 104,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. The 14 PASSHE Universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 400,000 PASSHE 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. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.