Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition for a third year

Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will hold the line on tuition for an unprecedented third consecutive year.

That means in-state students at schools that charge flat rate tuition will pay $7,716 a year for basic undergraduate tuition.

At Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the only local university in the state system that assesses tuition on a per-credit basis, tuition will remain at $319 per credit for state residents.

Of the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, those in Western Pennsylvania are California, Clarion, Edinboro, Indiana and Slippery Rock. Total enrollment at all 14 universities statewide was about 93,700 students last fall.

PSSHE’s Board of Governors approved the tuition freeze unanimously Thursday.

The tuition freeze announcement came as officials at the State System worked through a revamping designed to put the schools on long-term firm financial footing.

The State System has been under growing pressure for a decade as overall enrollment declined more than 20% from roughly 120,000 to under 94,000. Some schools experienced enrollment declines of as much as 30% to 50%.

System Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the tuition freeze reflects the State System’s commitment to continue meeting its mission of providing accessible, affordable higher education to Pennsylvania residents in a changing era.

Cynthia Shapira, chair of the Board of Governors said recent events played into the decision to freeze tuition yet again.

“A quality education and an affordable one go hand-in-hand at our universities. Students deserve our full support as they continue focusing on attaining a degree through the pandemic,” Shapira said, announcing the vote.

The Board of Governors is expected to meet later this month to weigh the latest developments in ongoing studies that could result in six State System universities integrating operations into two operating units as early as 2023.

Those schools are California, Clarion and Edinboro in Western Pennsylvania and Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield in Northeastern Pennsylvania.