PASSHE Plans for Tuition Hike

Students at the 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) schools may be looking at a 4% tuition increase next year. The Board of Governors today approved a two-year budget outline that included the tuition hike. The board says the increase is needed as state funding falls and personnel and health care costs rise. Board Chair Kenneth Jarin says, “The federal stimulus funding will help us this year and next. We hope that over the next two years the economy will recover sufficiently and the state’s revenues will rebound such that PASSHE’s funding can be returned at least to its previous level.” At the same meeting the board approved a 2010-11 state appropriation request of $483 million. That would be 3.8% more than this year’s state allocation. The two-year budget outline calls for an operating budget of nearly $1.5 billion, which is 4.4% more than the 2009-2010 budget. California, Edinboro, Indiana, and Slippery Rock are among the PASSHE universities.