Commonwealth Campus Tuition Remains Flat for In-State Undergraduates As Board Committee Approves Tuition, Operating Budgets Through 2024-25

Editor’s Note:  This story was derived from information in the official news and press releases issued by The Pennsylvania State University at the Board of Trustees meeting, held this year at Penn State Erie, The Behrend Campus.

ERIE, Pa. — Tuition would be held flat for Pennsylvania resident undergraduate students at Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses and increase by 2% for in-state undergraduates at the University Park campus each of the next two academic years under a new two-year fiscal plan approved by the Penn State Board of Trustees at its annual Board of Trustees meeting, held this year at the Penn State Behrend campus in Erie, Pa.

In total, approximately 18,000 Pennsylvania resident students at the Commonwealth Campuses, representing 43% of Penn State’s total in-state undergraduate student body, would not see a tuition increase over the next two years. Additionally, last year’s one-time $14 million investment for income-based Access Grants would go permanently into student financial aid on a recurring basis, continuing Penn State’s efforts to remove personal finances as a barrier to earning a college education.

Based on a 2% increase, full-time, lower-division, Pennsylvania-resident undergraduates attending the University Park campus would see tuition increase by $193 per semester, to $9,836 per semester, for the 2023-24 academic year.

At the Commonwealth Campuses, the proposed two-year tuition freeze would mark the fourth and fifth time since the 2018-19 academic year that Penn State has frozen in-state undergraduate tuition at all Commonwealth Campuses. Penn State last froze tuition for Pennsylvania resident undergraduates in 2020-21. Depending on the campus, full-time, lower-division tuition for Pennsylvania resident undergraduates would range between $6,784 and $7,694 per semester for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.

For all full-time, lower-division, non-Pennsylvania resident undergraduates at University Park, tuition would rise 4%, an increase of $762 per semester, to $19,813 per semester. A 1% increase in out-of-state undergraduate tuition at the Commonwealth Campuses would result in full-time, lower-division nonresidents paying between $113 and $129 more per semester, with rates ranging from $11,438 to $13,056 per semester, depending on the campus.

The proposed tuition schedule breakdowns for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years include the following rate increases:

Commonwealth Campuses

• No increase for in-state undergraduates.
• 1% for out-of-state undergraduates.
• 1% for in-state graduate students.
• 2% for out-of-state graduate students.

University Park

• 2% for in-state undergraduate and graduate students.
• 4% for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students.

World Campus

• 1% for all Penn State World Campus students (undergraduate and graduate).

Law schools

• 2% for all law students.

College of Medicine

• 4% for in-state medical students.
• 4% for out-of-state medical students in 2023-24.
• 14% for out-of-state medical students in 2024-25.

“When setting our tuition schedules, we are keenly aware that these decisions have real-world impacts on our students and families,” said  Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, president of Penn State. “I am very pleased that there will be no tuition increase for in-state undergraduates at our Commonwealth Campuses for the next two academic years. For most students we’ve been able to hold tuition increases below the rate of inflation and only to the minimum required to meet our own rising costs, and to continue providing our students the highest-quality experiences inside and outside of the classroom.”

Nearly three weeks after its June 30 deadline, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has not yet approved Penn State’s 2023-24 general support appropriation, funding that is used to help lower the cost of tuition for Pennsylvania students. The commonwealth provides Penn State with approximately $5,750 per Pennsylvania resident undergraduate, an amount that the University significantly amplifies, providing each in-state undergraduate an average discount of $15,000 annually on tuition costs.

With more than 42,000 Pennsylvania resident students and their families relying on the in-state tuition discount, Penn State will direct other resources to cover in-state tuition costs until state funding is approved. As a result, the University will put a temporary hold on planned funding for general salary increases until the impasse in Harrisburg is resolved. The budgets include 3% pools for merit-based salary increases each of the next two years, as well as some funding for the University’s compensation modernization initiative, both of which will be implemented after state funds are released.

The proposed budgets for the next two fiscal years also include 3% pools for unit executives to award merit-based general salary increases (GSI) for employees. Actual individual percentage increases will be determined by the employee review process and reflect employee performance, so individual salary increases may be higher or lower than 3%. The University also is budgeting funds for the compensation modernization initiative, which Vice President for Human Resources Jennifer Wilkes said is critical to ongoing efforts to attract and retain the best staff in support of the University’s educational mission. If approved by the board, more information about GSI and compensation modernization will be shared with employees after the state appropriations process concludes. General salary increases would be retroactive to July 1.

“I want to thank the entire Penn State community for its efforts as we’ve worked to respond to budget challenges,” Bendapudi said. “Our deficit today is lower than it was at this time last year, and we are forecasting progressively smaller deficits for each of the next two fiscal years. This work is not finished, but I am encouraged by what we have achieved thus far, and I am pleased to report that we remain on track for a balanced budget by fiscal year 2025-26.