· Approved the allocation of $819,000 for a pair of initiatives designed to improve the quality of preparation of primary and secondary teachers, including $200,000 to support a National Science Foundation project.

· Approved a more than $70 million capital spending plan for 2004-05 that will result in the renovation, expansion or construction of 10 academic buildings on nine PASSHE campuses.

“Our Universities have managed remarkably through three years of harsh budget constraints,” said Board Chairman Charles A. Gomulka. “We can no longer simply manage our budgets and expect to deliver on our commitment to students and the Commonwealth to provide a high quality education. We must infuse more resources into academic quality.”

After experiencing an 8 percent cut in funding over the past two years, PASSHE received a boost last week 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. The state funding represents a 3.9 percent increase over the amount PASSHE received in 2003-04.

However, the 2004-05 state appropriation still is $4 million – or approximately 1 percent – less than the amount PASSHE received from the Commonwealth 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 costs, as well as higher energy, technology and other operating costs.

PASSHE has taken steps in recent years to control those 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.

Even with the increased state appropriation and the cost-control measures that have been implemented, the Universities would fall about $40 million short of their revenue needs for 2004-05 without a tuition increase.

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 new tuition rates set by the Board will mean that full-time undergraduate students who are residents of Pennsylvania will pay $4,916 to attend any of the 14 PASSHE Universities for the full 2004-05 academic year. Full-time resident graduate tuition will be $5,900, an increase of $382. The technology tuition fee will be $150 for all full-time resident students and $38 for 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.

Nonresident undergraduate tuition will range from $7,374 to $12,290 next year, depending on a variety of factors, including the University and program in which a student enrolls. Nonresident graduate tuition will increase by $610, to $9,440. Full-time nonresident students will pay a $200 technology tuition fee and nonresident, part-time and summer school students will pay $50.

The increased level of State funding and new tuition rates will enable the Universities to make key investments that will enhance program quality across all 14 PASSHE Universities.

The 2004-05 technology tuition fee will generate $16 million for new technologies for use by students, and represents a significant and on-going commitment to the technology literacy and capacity of PASSHE students. The technology tuition fee was implemented by the Board of Governors two years ago. All funds raised by the fee must be 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 $9.1 million in operating funds designated for one-time investment in academic quality will be used by the Universities for state-of-the-art scientific and communications equipment and infrastructure, library acquisitions, renovations to instructional facilities and other instructional materials.

The Universities earn performance funding by demonstrating success and continued improvement in key areas related to student achievement, University excellence and operational efficiency. The Board established the performance funding program four years ago and has increased the amount of funding available to the Universities every year – from $2 million in the first year of the program to nearly $21.7 million, 5 percent of PASSHE’s Educational and General Fund appropriation from the Commonwealth, for 2004-05.

The $819,000 investment in programs to improve the quality of teaching in Pennsylvania’s primary and secondary schools comes from a separate $16 million appropriation from the Commonwealth to support special program initiatives. A total of $619,000 of that funding will be used to support a variety of teacher education programs, all designed to help increase the number of highly qualified teachers and other education professionals, especially in urban school districts, and to improve their teaching skills.

The remaining $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 specifically at improving science and mathematics education. 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 remainder of the 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 separate funding of $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 reimburse PASSHE for a portion of the funds it was unexpectedly required by the Governor’s Budget Office to contribute last year to help 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-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 services. Auxiliary facility construction projects are funded through facility-generated revenues and student fees, not State dollars.

“All of these investments demonstrate PASSHE’s commitment to ensuring that our Universities provide students the highest quality educational experience, and are responsive to the needs of 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.