High Cost of Higher Education: Penn State, Other State Schools Raise Tuition

Penn State University

Trustees at Penn State University voted Friday to increase the base in-state tuition from nearly 3.4-percent to less than 1-percent, depending on the campus. 

For lower division Pennsylvania resident students attending the University Park campus, the tuition increase will be 3.39 percent, or $264 per semester, and for nonresident students the increase will be 2.87 percent, or $400 per semester. 

“Before considering an increase to tuition and fees, we identified expense reductions of $35.9 million and delayed planned budget increases for the capital improvement plan and deferred maintenance. The unavoidable cost increases that could not be funded by internal budget reductions and reallocations are what constitute this increase,” President Rodney Erickson said in a statement released by the University. “We remain committed to keeping Penn State's tuition increase at its lowest possible rate without sacrificing the quality of our academic programs.” 

At the Penn State Altoona, Berks, Erie and Harrisburg campuses, tuition will rise by 2.45 percent, or $320 a year. 

Students attending most other Western Pennsylvania campuses -- Beaver, DuBois, Greater Allegheny, Fayette and New Kensington – will see increases of 0.75 percent, or $94 per year. 

Erickson also said intense competition in the western part of the state among higher education institutions also played a role in the tuition differential. 

Tuition prices can vary by major and a student's year of study, and the proposed tuition does not reflect various fees.

University of Pittsburgh

The budget committee of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees meets next week, and could vote on tuition rates then.

Pennsylvania Public Universities

The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Tuesday approved a $194 tuition increase for the 2013-2014 academic year. 

The 3 percent increase brings the annual tuition rate for full-time, resident undergraduate students attending any of the 14 state owned universities to $3,311 per semester, or $6,622 for the full academic year. 

Those schools include California University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

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According to the Department of Education, using data from the 2011-2012 academic year, Pitt and Penn State had the highest in-state tuition among all of the public universities in the United States.

1. University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus $16,132

2. Pennsylvania State University — Main Campus $15,984

3. University of New Hampshire — Main Campus $15,250

4. University of Vermont $14,784

5. Colorado School of Mines $14,453