Tuition at some of Pennsylvania’s most affordable universities will remain frozen for a fifth consecutive year.
The typical in-state undergraduate student within Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education can again expect to pay $7,716 per semester this academic year. That number has remained unchanged since fall 2018.
The lack of a tuition hike is possible because of an agreed-upon 6% increase in state funding to the system, which amounts to $33 million. However, the state budget might not be finalized until September.
"Funding from the state is a lifeline for our students to have access to higher education," said Cynthia Shapira, chair of the system's Board of Governors.
Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, or PASSHE, is one of two public higher education systems. (The other is the Commonwealth System of Higher Education and includes the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, Lincoln University and Penn State University.) PASSHE is headquartered in Harrisburg and comprises 14 campuses, including those in Slippery Rock, Indiana and Edinboro.
As one of the more economical paths to a college degree in Pennsylvania, PASSHE reports that one in three students are the first people in their families to attend college, more than one in five are underrepresented minority students, and a third come from families that earn $48,000 a year, or less.
