Harrisburg, PA –The 2022-23 state budget passed by the Pennsylvania legislature and signed by Governor Tom Wolf provides a historic funding increase for Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education and the 90,000 students the universities serve.

The Observer-Reporter and Herald-Standard recently posted the editorial “State System funding boost a step in the right direction" supporting the investment in students and the state's workforce.

The funding enables the State System to hold tuition flat for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year, despite inflation, which is great news for tens of thousands low- and middle-income PASSHE students. A degree or credential creates a lifetime of opportunities for them.

The investment also fuels PASSHE coordination with local businesses, including healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, and education, which are starved for the well-educated graduates that State System universities provide.

The editorial notes:

“Among states hacking away at higher education budgets, Pennsylvania has regrettably been a leader – between 2008 and 2018, it was one of seven states that cut its contribution to public colleges and universities by at least 30%, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“The days of generous support for public colleges and universities are not likely to make a comeback anytime soon, but Pennsylvania has taken a step in the right direction by increasing funding for the PASSHE by 16% in the 2022-23 state budget, the largest single-year increase the State System has received. It is also getting $125 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to support the ongoing redesign of the system, bringing the overall amount to $677 million."

The editorial concludes, “Lawmakers would be wise not to let this infusion of money be a one-off event. The PASSHE has pointed out its campuses have had a $4 billion economic impact on the commonwealth. That's $8.30 for every dollar Harrisburg invests. That's a pretty good return.

“The increased funding for higher education is a good first step. Let's hope it's the first of many."

Read the complete editorial.

Learn more about the historic investment in State System universities and students.

ABOUT PASSHE
Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is the public university system of the commonwealth with a mission to provide a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to students. With 90% of its students from Pennsylvania, PASSHE universities enroll the most in-state residents of all four-year colleges and universities in the state, most of whom stay in Pennsylvania after graduation. Across the system, PASSHE educates approximately 90,000 degree-seeking students with thousands more in certificate and career programs. The universities collectively offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. There are more than 800,000 living alumni, most of whom live in Pennsylvania.