Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors today agreed to request $508.2 million from the state next year to help fund the operations of the 14 state-owned Universities.

The funding would support PASSHE’s proposed Fiscal Year 2008-09 operating budget of $1.37 billion. The annual state appropriation provides about one-third of the funds needed to operate PASSHE Universities. Student tuition and fees cover most of the rest.

The request approved by the Board, which will be presented to the Governor’s Budget Office later this month, represents an increase of $24.2 million, or 5 percent, over PASSHE’s current base appropriation from the Commonwealth.

“PASSHE has been prudent with all of its resources, both the funds we receive from the state and the tuition dollars we receive from our students,” said Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth M. Jarin. “Our universities have been aggressive in their efforts to control their costs, which, when combined with the support we receive from the state, has enabled us to keep tuition affordable while enhancing the quality of education our students receive.”

The Board of Governors in July approved a 2.75 percent tuition increase, the third consecutive year tuition was increased at or below the rate of inflation. Tuition at the 14 PASSHE Universities remains the lowest among all four-year colleges and universities in Pennsylvania.

PASSHE’s operating costs are expected to increase by about $46.9 million, or 3.6 percent, next year. Employee salaries and benefits will account for most of that increase, about $35.8 million combined. Utility costs also are projected to increase by about $2.7 million, while other increases are anticipated in the cost of materials and supplies and in building maintenance. Some cost increases will be mitigated through the use of strategic sourcing, which combines the purchasing power of PASSHE’s 14 Universities to obtain better prices on the purchase of services, supplies and equipment.

In addition to approving the 2008-09 base appropriation request, the Board of Governors also approved separate funding requests totaling about $24.8 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 Governor’s Budget Office will consider PASSHE’s appropriations requests along with those prepared by other state agencies as it develops a proposed 2008-09 general fund budget for the Commonwealth. The governor will submit that proposal to the Legislature in February, after which the House and Senate appropriations committees will hold a series of public hearings on the spending plan. The Commonwealth budget must be approved by June 30, 2008, 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 2008-09 state budget.

With more than 110,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth.The 14 PASSHE Universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Ninety percent of the students who attend 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.

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.