The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors today voted to increase tuition by $181 for the 2008-09 academic year. For the fourth year in a row, the increase will be below the rate of inflation.

The new annual tuition rate for full-time, resident, undergraduate students beginning this fall will be $5,358 – the lowest rate among all four-year colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. PASSHE’s total tuition and fee increases over the last five years have been the lowest among all public university systems in the United States.

"We are committed to keeping tuition affordable for all of our students,” said Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth M. Jarin. “With this small increase, our universities will be able to continue to offer a high-quality, affordable education that represents the best value in Pennsylvania. We are grateful to Governor Rendell and the Legislature for their strong support of the State System, which has helped enable us to keep our tuition increases to a minimum.”

Despite rising cost pressures, PASSHE has been able to hold tuition increases to about half the average imposed by public universities and university systems across the United States over each of the last five years.

“PASSHE has been able to keep tuition increases to a minimum while continuing to enhance the quality of education our students receive,” said Chancellor John C. Cavanaugh. “Our university presidents, faculty and staff deserve the credit for our continued success in serving our students and the Commonwealth.”

The Board of Governors also finalized PASSHE’s nearly $1.4 billion 2008-09 operating budget. PASSHE will receive $498.5 million from the Commonwealth to support its basic operations this year, an increase of $14.5 million, or 3 percent more than it received in 2007-08. The State System also will receive an additional nearly $21 million in separate funding to help support a variety of special programs, including performance funding, diversity initiatives and teacher excellence.

The Board approved using about $10 million of the special funding to support PASSHE’s eight-year-old performance funding program, which encourages and rewards the universities for demonstrating success and continued improvement in key areas related to student achievement, university excellence and operational efficiency. The special funding will be combined with a portion of the base appropriation to make available a total of about $40 million for performance funding in 2008-09. The program has helped boost both graduation and student retention rates across the System and make a variety of other improvements.

The remainder of the special funding from the Commonwealth will be allocated as follows:

• $5 million to support the continued development of PASSHE’s shared administrative (IT) system.
• $1.9 million for economic development initiatives to benefit the Commonwealth.
• $1.6 million for diversity and equal opportunity programs.
• $1.2 million for programs to enhance the quality of education programs in the Commonwealth.
• $500,000 to support a revitalization plan for Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.
• $213,000 to help support the operation of the McKeever Environmental Learning Center, which is operated by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the Commonwealth.
• $368,000 for the operation of the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education, which also is located at Slippery Rock.

The Board also set new tuition rates for resident graduate students and all nonresident students. The resident graduate tuition rate in 2008-09 will be $6,430, an increase of $216. Nonresident graduate tuition will increase by $344, to $10,288. Full-time, nonresident undergraduate student tuition will range from $8,038 to $13,396, depending on a variety of factors, including the university and program in which a student enrolls.

The tuition technology fee will increase by $6 to $181 for the full academic year for full-time resident students and by $9 to $273 for full-time nonresidents. 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 total cost of attendance for a resident student who resides on campus during the 2008-09 academic year, including tuition, required fees, room and board, will average about $13,000.

Now in its 25^th year, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with more than 110,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 405,000 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, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.