Tuition across Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities will increase by a base yearly rate of 2.99 percent, or $224, effective this fall.
The State System of Higher Education's board of governors approved the new rate for 2018-19 during a meeting Thursday in Harrisburg. It brings the in-state undergraduate price to $7,716 a year, not counting other fees including food and housing, most set by individual campuses.
Board members were shown a range of options, from a 4 percent increase to a freeze, but ultimately by a 15-4 vote they backed the resolution presented to them, some more reluctantly than others.
Officials described it as the second-smallest increase in more than a decade.
But it will likely not sit well with students in a state where public university prices are higher than all but two other states, nor will it fully address a $49.2 million budget shortfall the campuses face. By itself, the higher tuition leaves about $19 million to be made up by the campuses in spending cuts, according to system projections.
Board Chairwoman Cynthia Shapira said she supported the move reluctantly, saying that if no increase is approved, "the people it will directly affect at the moment are our students."
"If we don't raise tuition,'' agreed board vice chairman David Maser, additional programs and professors will go. "Things go away. Opportunity goes away."
Even so, he and others also said the current funding system does not work, and one student board member noted that tens of millions of dollars are going to pay salary increases. He said they are no doubt justified, but added it nevertheless is not going to students.
The state this year increased the system's appropriation by 3 percent, but it remains one of the nation's stingiest in its support of higher education — third from the bottom.
Thursday's vote covers 102,000 students systemwide. It comes as two state-related universities, University of Pittsburgh and Penn State, are due to set their own rates for the fall in the coming days.
The base yearly in-state tuition across the State System stood at $7,492 last year, though several universities have been given permission to charge full-time undergraduates a per-credit rate. Additionally, the board is weighing a proposal that would phase out the practice of setting a single tuition rate altogether, in favor of allowing universities to propose their own tuition charges.
Penn State enrolls 99,000 students, about two-thirds of whom are in-state residents. Its president, Eric Barron, said he would recommend to school trustees that they freeze in-state tuition on all Penn State campuses in 2018-19 if the state budget deal granting his institution a 3 percent increase passed, as it did days later. His board meets July 19 and 20.
Pitt officials also expect to set the school's tuition this month but so far have not said if they expect to propose a freeze to their board of trustees.
"I don’t want my silence to signal anything other than I’m trying to give my board room to see a proposal, see the facts," Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month.
"I don’t want to disrespect my board by handicapping what I think should happen before they have a chance to consider it," he added.
Pitt and Penn State already are among the priciest public universities in the nation, charging Pennsylvanians a yearly main campus tuition of $18,130 and $17,416, respectively, for the 2017-18 academic year. Both have long described the major culprit as eroding state support, sometimes delivered some months late to both campuses
During Thursday’s meeting, the board also agreed to set the technology fee at $478 for Pennsylvanians and $728 for non-residents.
State House speaker Michael Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, who appointed himself to the system board this spring, came to the meeting with questions about the system redesign. He was among those voting against the increase, expressing his disappointment.
“When legislators voted for the fourth straight increase in state funding, many members’ vote was predicated upon an expectation that the [State System] universities would hold the line on tuition,” he said.
Also voting no were Rep. Michael Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre; Sen. Judith Schwank, D-Berks County; and student member Joar Dahn. Everyone else voted yes except Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster County, who was not present.
Mr. Turzai asked if there should be, in effect, magnet campuses “versus each school doing what it thinks it can do best.”
He also inquired about the system's commitment to the STEM fields of Science Technology Engineering and Math.
Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney referred him to a part of the meeting agenda package, which she said notes that the share of students enrolled in STEM and health fields at the former teachers colleges already totals 28 percent, versus 11 percent for teaching.
Mr. Turzai also listened as another system board member reminded the Legislature a few minutes later that it has a primary responsibility to ensure resources for education.
During the public comment portion of Thursday's meeting, the head of the faculty union suggested three items as being among those his membership believes should be included as the system continues its ongoing redesign effort.
Ken Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, called for:
• A joint application tool enabling students to apply to multiple system universities simultaneously;
• An infrastructure that includes fee collection to facilitate faculty on multiple campuses to develop collaborate academic programs;
• Creation of a gateway page on the State System web site showing distance learning opportunities across the 14 institutions.
The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.
Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1977 and on Twitter: @Bschackner
First Published: July 12, 2018, 5:25 p.m.
Updated: July 12, 2018, 9:50 p.m.
