The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors today agreed to request $495.7 million in state funding next year to help support the operations of the 14 state-owned Universities.

The funding would support PASSHE’s proposed Fiscal Year 2007-08 operating budget of about $1.3 billion. The annual state appropriation provides about 38 percent of the funds needed to operate PASSHE Universities. Student tuition and fees cover most of the rest.

The request approved by the Board represents an increase of $28.1 million, or 6 percent, over PASSHE’s current base appropriation from the Commonwealth. In addition to the extra state funds, a tuition increase of about $50 per student, or 1 percent, would be needed to balance the 2007-08 operating budget as proposed.

“PASSHE remains committed to providing students with the highest-quality, most affordable education possible,” said Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth M. Jarin. “The funding we receive from the state represents an important investment in Pennsylvania’s future, one that will be returned many times over and that will greatly benefit not only our students, but also every citizen of the Commonwealth.”

PASSHE Universities are the lowest-cost option among all four-year colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. Ninety percent of the students attending PASSHE Universities are Pennsylvania residents, and the vast majority will remain in the state after graduation. More than 405,000 PASSHE alumni currently live and work in Pennsylvania.

“PASSHE graduates form the backbone of Pennsylvania’s economy,” said PASSHE Chancellor Judy G. Hample. “They are leaders in their communities and contribute significantly to the economic, social and cultural growth of the Commonwealth.”

PASSHE expects its operating costs to increase by about $40.1 million, or 3.2 percent, next year, with the largest increases coming in the areas of employee salaries and benefit costs, utilities, and building maintenance and repair costs. Growing student enrollment also continues to exert pressure on PASSHE’s annual budget. Total enrollment at the 14 Universities increased this fall for the 10^th consecutive year and is expected to increase again in 2007-08. Since 2000-01, enrollment has grown by more than 12 percent, with half of the Universities reporting record enrollments this year.

In addition to approving the 2007-08 base appropriation request, the Board of Governors also approved separate funding requests totaling about $24 million to support a variety of initiatives, including performance funding, economic development, teacher education programs, and diversity and equal opportunity efforts across the System.

The appropriations requests will be submitted to the Governor’s Budget Office later this month, marking the beginning of the annual budget process. The governor will make his budget recommendations to the Legislature in February, after which the House and Senate appropriation committees will hold a series of public hearings on the spending plan. The 2007-08 budget must be approved by June 30, 2007 in order to take effect July 1, the start of the next fiscal year.

The Board will determine next year’s tuition rate sometime after passage of the 2007-08 state budget. A 1 percent tuition increase would raise tuition for full-time undergraduate students who are residents of Pennsylvania to $5,088.

With more than 109,000 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.

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, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.