Today I am going to be switching it up a bit and talking about an issue that is relevant to (probably) every student reading this blog: Penn State funding. Per an article from Penn State News, the University’s general support appropriation has been held flat at $242.1 million since a 2% increase was implemented for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. According to the same article, “in real dollars, Penn State’s funding remains at nearly the same level it was in 2000, despite almost 25 years of inflationary cost increases” (Penn State News).
Funding from legislators in Harrisburg plays a crucial part in Penn State’s budget, providing the funding necessary to offer discounted tuition for in-state students and funding that is necessary for the operation of the University’s 20 commonwealth campuses. According to Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, Pennsylvania ranks second to last in per-student support for higher education (Bendapudi). Given the sheer volume of students who attend Penn State, this is a disappointing statistic, especially considering the positive impact the University undoubtedly has on Pennsylvania’s economy.
As someone who was born and raised in Pennsylvania, I would be lying if I said that the in-state tuition did not play a role in my decision to attend Penn State (alongside the fact that it’s a great school!). Furthermore, my family has a stake in this issue because my dad works for the York Campus, so funding cuts to the commonwealth directly impacts him. However, out-of-state Penn Staters also have a stake in this issue, as funding can also be applied towards services that support all students.
In response to inadequate funding, students from University Park as well as across the commonwealth have begun speaking up and lobbying state legislatures to make sure Penn State is receiving its fair share. Lion Caucus, a registered student organization on campus, works with Advocate Penn State to share the success stories from many Nittany Lions and to express how much the institution means to them towards the end of receiving more funding. On March 18th, students in Lion Caucus as well as other student groups on campus traveled to Harrisburg for Capitol Day, meeting with legislators for the same purpose. I unfortunately was unable to attend Capitol Day this year, but I hope to go in the future! If advocating for fair appropriations is something you are interested in, I highly recommend checking Lion Caucus out on Instagram and getting involved!
Efforts over the past couple years to persuade legislators to increase Penn State funding have already made some strides; on February 6th of this year, Governor Josh Shapiro proposed a 5% increase for Pennsylvania-state related Universities to be funded through a performance-based funding model. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in advocating for “Dear Old State”: ultimately, if the Pennsylvania legislature values public higher education, they ought to prove it by providing the University at least with funding that is on par with where it should be given inflation. Furthermore, we as students have the ability to make a difference by advocating on behalf of the University.
Sources:
https://www.psu.edu/news/administration/story/gov-shapiro-proposes-funding-plan-pa-higher-education/
Photo courtesy of Advocate Penn State on Facebook
This was also really cool, but disappointing to read about it. I am glad I’m educated on it though.
I was aware of Penn State’s current funding issues, mainly due to our deliberation lol, but wasn’t aware that they haven’t received funding to keep up with inflation. This actually changed my perspective a little bit on the school. It’s hard to not feel some type of disbelief that a University as big as Penn State would have funding issues, especially considering the cost of tuition and how many students go there but they should have funding which keeps up with inflation!