Barron pointed out that three of the past four Pennsylvania budgets have included important increases to Penn State’s funding, which has enabled the University to keep in-state undergraduate tuition rates flat — across the board — in two of the three years that state support increased. Penn State also has not raised tuition at eight Commonwealth Campuses — Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango and Wilkes-Barre — for the past four years.
Penn State ranks No. 5 among all state flagship universities for the smallest overall increase in in-state tuition over the last 10 years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education 2018 Almanac, and tuition increases across Penn State’s campuses have been below national averages for more than a decade.
“Access and affordability is our top priority, and I can’t overstate the importance of the appropriation for achieving that end,” Barron said. “It has enabled countless students to pursue their dreams with less debt and more time to engage in meaningful and productive activities like internships, leadership opportunities, and service work.”
In addition to containing tuition costs, Penn State has focused on other factors that contribute to the total cost of a degree, such as decreasing the rate of student borrowing, reducing attrition due to financial challenges, and providing resources to help students graduate on time. These efforts have had a significant impact on student borrowing in particular, Barron said, with average student debt down approximately $2,400 per undergraduate student at the Commonwealth Campuses and $500 per undergraduate at University Park, between 2015-16 and 2017-18.
Among the programs underway to help keep a Penn State education accessible and affordable are the Pathway to Success: Summer Startprogram, which provides students with a scholarship to take summer classes while earning additional money through on-campus employment; the Student Transitional Experiences Program, which offers financial, mentoring and networking support for students transitioning to University Park from a Commonwealth Campus; the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center, which provides no-cost financial counseling and financial literacy programming; the Raise.me micro-scholarship program, a partnership with 24 urban and rural high schools in Pennsylvania where students interested in attending Penn State can earn up to $16,000 in scholarship support over four years; and Complete Penn State, which is designed to help students with high GPAs and credit counts overcome struggles so they can complete their degrees.
Barron pledged Penn State’s continued good stewardship of the state’s dollars, and said the University would continue to identify cost savings in the University’s operating budget for the coming fiscal year. Penn State has enacted $440.3 million in cuts to recurring costs since 1992, including $36.5 million in the 2018-19 budget alone. These measures have helped the University to meet rising expenses, while keeping tuition increases low or flat for students.
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Penn State ranks No. 5 among all state flagship universities for the smallest overall increase in in-state tuition over the last 10 years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education 2018 Almanac, and tuition increases across Penn State’s campuses have been below national averages for more than a decade.
“Access and affordability is our top priority, and I can’t overstate the importance of the appropriation for achieving that end,” Barron said. “It has enabled countless students to pursue their dreams with less debt and more time to engage in meaningful and productive activities like internships, leadership opportunities, and service work.”
In addition to containing tuition costs, Penn State has focused on other factors that contribute to the total cost of a degree, such as decreasing the rate of student borrowing, reducing attrition due to financial challenges, and providing resources to help students graduate on time. These efforts have had a significant impact on student borrowing in particular, Barron said, with average student debt down approximately $2,400 per undergraduate student at the Commonwealth Campuses and $500 per undergraduate at University Park, between 2015-16 and 2017-18.
Among the programs underway to help keep a Penn State education accessible and affordable are the Pathway to Success: Summer Startprogram, which provides students with a scholarship to take summer classes while earning additional money through on-campus employment; the Student Transitional Experiences Program, which offers financial, mentoring and networking support for students transitioning to University Park from a Commonwealth Campus; the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center, which provides no-cost financial counseling and financial literacy programming; the Raise.me micro-scholarship program, a partnership with 24 urban and rural high schools in Pennsylvania where students interested in attending Penn State can earn up to $16,000 in scholarship support over four years; and Complete Penn State, which is designed to help students with high GPAs and credit counts overcome struggles so they can complete their degrees.
Barron pledged Penn State’s continued good stewardship of the state’s dollars, and said the University would continue to identify cost savings in the University’s operating budget for the coming fiscal year. Penn State has enacted $440.3 million in cuts to recurring costs since 1992, including $36.5 million in the 2018-19 budget alone. These measures have helped the University to meet rising expenses, while keeping tuition increases low or flat for students.
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