PSU to freeze tuition for in state students

[Nitwit]

News

Penn State proposes tuition freeze, only the second in more than 50 years
Susan Snyder, Staff Writer

Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2018, 11:04 AM

Penn State University President Eric Barron’s proposed tuition freeze is endorsed by the board of trustee’s finance committee. The full board votes Friday. .
The finance committee of Pennsylvania State University’s board of trustees Thursday endorsed a proposal by President Eric Barron to freeze tuition for in-state residents for 2018-19.

It would be only the second university-wide tuition freeze in more than 50 years at Pennsylvania’s flagship university. The school last froze tuition in 2015-16.

The full board is scheduled to vote on the recommendation at a meeting Friday afternoon at the university’s Reading campus. Out of state students, about 30 percent of the student body, will see tuition rise 3.54 percent.

In-state freshmen and sophomores currently pay $17,416 annually on the main campus; out-of-state students, $32,644.

The student activity and facilities fee would rise, by $9 at the University Park campus or 3.3 percent under the plan

“Access and affordability are top priorities at Penn State,” Barron said in a statement. “We must do all that we can to keep the door to a Penn State education open to and within financial reach of the best and brightest students across the Commonwealth.”

Pressure from legislators had been building in recent weeks for Pennsylvania’s 14 state universities and four state-related universities, including Penn State, to freeze tuition, given the state’s funding boost for the schools this year. State-related universities got a 3 percent increase, while those in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education received a 3.3 percent increase.

Barron announced last month that he would propose a freeze for in-state students, given the state’s $7.5 million funding increase.

The University of Pittsburgh earlier this week voted to freeze tuition. But the other schools have not. Temple University raised tuition 2 percent and the 14 state universities nearly 3 percent. Lincoln, also state-related, increased tuition 2.5 percent over last year for incoming freshmen (current students don’t pay that; they are guaranteed the same tuition price all four years.)

The freeze will be nothing new for some of Penn State’s branch campuses, which have kept costs steady in recent years. Tuition has been frozen at eight of the 19 Commonwealth Campuses — Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango and Wilkes-Barre — for the last three years.

 

[BobPSU92]

Who cares? PATERNO. STATUE.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Funny how two stories by different news outlets paint two different pictures. I just saw this story on WTAJ channel 10 and they said it was the 2nd tuition freeze in the last four years. The WTAJ story said nothing about the past 50, although the above from Philly.com does say tuition was frozen two years ago.

 

[Nitwit]

Funny how two stories by different news outlets paint two different pictures. I just saw this story on WTAJ channel 10 and they said it was the 2nd tuition freeze in the last four years. The WTAJ story said nothing about the past 50, although the above from Philly.com does say tuition was frozen two years ago.

Yeah I don’t know how relevant going back 50 years is, but two of the last four years is a more meaningful statistic. Getting more State aid is certainly a help. Keeping the tuition stable at the branch campuses is important as well in helping to provide more students access to Penn State and in keeping these campuses competitive with local alternatives.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

Yeah I don’t know how relevant going back 50 years is, but two of the last four years is a more meaningful statistic. Getting more State aid is certainly a help. Keeping the tuition stable at the branch campuses is important as well in helping to provide more students access to Penn State and in keeping these campuses competitive with local alternatives.

Several branch campuses need to close. There's a few that are in horrible shape financially with little to no hope for improvement.

 

[michnittlion]

Several branch campuses need to close. There's a few that are in horrible shape financially with little to no hope for improvement.

About half the branch campuses have an enrollment of 1000 or under. That's smaller than many high schools!

I agree with you - shuttering some branch campuses is something that needs to be done. I'm not sure the "political will" is there, however.

 

[MtNittany]

Several branch campuses need to close. There's a few that are in horrible shape financially with little to no hope for improvement.

Penn College seems to be flourishing. Maybe they need to redirect some of their resources toward the trades.

 

[NittPicker]

As PSU enrolls fewer in state students, it's enrolling more out of state students. They then jack up tuition on the out of staters. I'm sure the revenues will be greater than last year otherwise there wouldn't be a freeze.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

Penn College seems to be flourishing. Maybe they need to redirect some of their resources toward the trades.

Absolutely. Resources need to be directed there and online learning. Time for PSU to put up or shut up.

 

[LionDeNittany]

In-state freshmen and sophomores currently pay $17,416 annually on the main campus; out-of-state students, $32,644.

$32,644 per year to sit in some classrooms and they talk about "affordability". These people are truly insane. That's just tuition.

LdN

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Several branch campuses need to close. There's a few that are in horrible shape financially with little to no hope for improvement.

This has been known for decades but nothing has been done. They are a depression-era relic. Penn State would be much better off with three or four branch campuses instead of the ridiculous number they currently have.

 

[Nitwit]

Ding ding ding!

There’s your winner.


There is no “tuition freeze” ....... tuition for the students at Univ Park will be going up - in the neighborhood of 5% on average, per student.

When you have a student sitting in your classroom paying $18,000 per year...... and the next year, you have a student in that same seat paying $34,000 per year.....
Tell me how the price of tuition hasn’t gone up?



But, people are incredibly stupid (and no one is willing/able to do “math”)...... and so folks like Dambly and Barron can say whatever the hell they want - knowing that 90% of the troglodytes will gobble it up.

C’est la Vie....... I, for one, have exhausted my patience with the adamantly stupid.

Leave it to Norm to put a negative spin on a zero % increase for instate students. When you have an instate student who is paying the same as last year, his tuition has not increased. That’s easy math, even for you. Why bother, other than to feed your compulsion to promote a negative agenda, to compute an “average” which is totally irrelevant to them. The individual in State student does not pay more. His tuition is frozen. Period!

I don’t care what out of state students pay, and how much their increase is. It’s still far less expensive for them than a private university which is likely to charge about $60,000. So if they want to pay more to attend PSU, we should be glad the university is getting their money. It will help to keep the tuition frozen for Pennsylvania residents.

 

[bison13]

Leave it to Norm to put a negative spin on a zero % increase for instate students. When you have an instate student who is paying the same as last year, his tuition has not increased. That’s easy math, even for you. Why bother, other than to feed your compulsion to promote a negative agenda, to compute an “average” which is totally irrelevant to them. The individual in State student does pay more. His tuition is frozen. Period!

I don’t care what out of state students pay, and how much their increase is. It’s still far less expensive for them than a private university which is likely to charge about $60,000. So if they want to pay more to attend PSU, we should be glad the university is getting their money. It will help to keep the tuition frozen for Pennsylvania residents.

Except that private university probably gives $30K in financial aid while PSU give none. Living in MD, that is the main issue with students who apply to PSU, the lack of financial aid in comparison to other schools.

My second best Calc BC student this year (will enter college with around 30 credits) applied to about 20 schools, UMD, PSU, UVA, Ivies, UChicago, Hopkins, etc. She said that the financial aid package for PSU was the lowest of all of them.

 

[Sharkies]

Leave it to Norm to put a negative spin on a zero % increase for instate students. When you have an instate student who is paying the same as last year, his tuition has not increased. That’s easy math, even for you. Why bother, other than to feed your compulsion to promote a negative agenda, to compute an “average” which is totally irrelevant to them. The individual in State student does pay more. His tuition is frozen. Period!

I don’t care what out of state students pay, and how much their increase is. It’s still far less expensive for them than a private university which is likely to charge about $60,000. So if they want to pay more to attend PSU, we should be glad the university is getting their money. It will help to keep the tuition frozen for Pennsylvania residents.

Cmon NIT, you're smarter this and you fell right into their trap. Yea, for the students already there that are in state, they get to pay the same amount next year. No doubt. But all Penn State has to do is admit an ever increasing percentage of out of state kids (which they are doing!), and boom! Now you've just raised tuition without raising tuition. Barry is 100% right on this.

It's like the idiots that live around me and every year the property taxes go up.. And they say, surely we have to keep paying these increases because good schools drive the property values... They're putting the egg before the chicken. The schools are actually good BECAUSE of the property values, not the other way around.

 

[PearlSUJam]

1) Every time you fill a seat w an OOS kid, that is one less PA kid given the opportunity.
PSU is THE PA Land Grant University, who’s primary mission is SUPPOSED TO BE providing a quality, affordable education to the Sons and Daughters of Pennsylvania.
2) When you try to raise revenue by targeting more and more kids based on their ability to pay outrageous tuition costs, you have to dig lower and lower into the pool of academically-qualified students ...... which - as we have seen - lowers the academic profile of the University - - - with horrible long-term effects.
That ain’t rocket-surgery, that’s Econ 101.

All of those things are obvious to anyone (with an IQ above room temperature) interested enough to pay attention.


Personally, I don’t (much) care what OOS students are charged. What I do care about is the quality and the affordability and the breadth of the educational opportunities provided to the “Sons and Daughters”...... which is why the 5-step Plan I proposed waybback when placed requirements on both the tuition levels and the % of seats that went to PA students.

And, at PSU, providing affordable, quality education to the “Sons and Daughters” has become a sad joke (kinda’ like some of the apologists and piss-boys around here).


C’est la Vie.

Barry, can you get your hands on the actual numbers on residents vs. OOS for say the last 10 years or will it take RTK requests and other hoop jumping? PA taxpayers deserve to know the truth.

 

[johnmpsu]

Given the tiny percentage of the PSU budget provided by the state (aka PA taxpayers) the out of state students carry an inordinate percentage of the cost. I'm not sure what it is now but the taxpayer contribution used to be only 4%. Now if out of staters are willing to pay that's fine but PA residents have nothing to complain about. They are getting a very good deal compared to the out of staters.

 

[Nitwit]

If you’re taking more out of state students aren’t you making it more competitive for in state students who still make up the majority since there are fewer slots to fill? I don’t see why more out of state students lowers the academic profile. Also lower in state tuition may attract more instate applicants.

 

[RGWhirly]

I was reading somewhere that the number of students graduating from HS in PA is on a steady decline. Even if they found a way to lower tuition for in-state students, it is going to be necessary for Penn State to continue to bring in more and more out-of-state and international students.

And I do agree with those that feel a decent amount of the Commonwealth Campuses need to close.

 

[91Joe95]

Leave it to Norm to put a negative spin on a zero % increase for instate students. When you have an instate student who is paying the same as last year, his tuition has not increased. That’s easy math, even for you. Why bother, other than to feed your compulsion to promote a negative agenda, to compute an “average” which is totally irrelevant to them. The individual in State student does pay more. His tuition is frozen. Period!

I don’t care what out of state students pay, and how much their increase is. It’s still far less expensive for them than a private university which is likely to charge about $60,000. So if they want to pay more to attend PSU, we should be glad the university is getting their money. It will help to keep the tuition frozen for Pennsylvania residents.

 

[scottpsurules]

If you’re taking more out of state students aren’t you making it more competitive for in state students who still make up the majority since there are fewer slots to fill? I don’t see why more out of state students lowers the academic profile. Also lower in state tuition may attract more instate applicants.

Personally I have a SR to be at PSU, am in-state, so very happy with a tuition freeze. In regards to it really isn't a freeze, that's all blahblahblah, to me it is a freeze end of story.

Yeah agree, that less in state students as a %, could very likely up academic profile of UP, as some of the lesser in state students won't get there. Conversely may lower branch campus profiles.

In regards to more in state apps, keep in mind PSU is still quite pricey as the the price is the price. The private schools and $60k price tags aren't real, no one pays that, its like buying a car.....

 

[PSU Mike]

If you’re taking more out of state students aren’t you making it more competitive for in state students who still make up the majority since there are fewer slots to fill? I don’t see why more out of state students lowers the academic profile. Also lower in state tuition may attract more instate applicants.

Read Barry’s last post, along with bison13’s. The better OOS students are going to Ivies, Hopkins, etc at or below the cost they’d pay at PSU. How many superior students are left after those take their better offers becomes the question. It isn’t the cream of the crop; it’s the kids whose dumb ass parents want to impress their friends by telling them they’re paying big bucks for their (often) only decent student sons and daughters to go to PSU OOS.

 

[Keyser Soze 16801]

I don’t see why more out of state students lowers the academic profile..

Because you are dipping deeper into the pool of out of state applicants

 

[Nitwit]

Because you are dipping deeper into the pool of out of state applicants

Which means you are dipping shallower into the pool of instate applicants.

 

[interrobang]

Freeze? How about lower tuition instead. It's all one big game of cat and mouse with the state using students as bait

Meanwhile, the university's budget is going way up again. How about the university tighten its belts instead of continually expanding at the expense of the students it exists to service.

 

[LurkerLazarus]

The last numbers I saw showed 40% out of state students in the incoming freshman class. Maybe that was last year's freshman.

Point is, it's pretty clear that the university has serious money issues. Aid packages pale in comparison to other schools, as has been stated by many different people here who had a student in the process. They are definitely using out of state tuition to increase cash flow. Most of these out of state students aren't top notch, as logic would dictate, and our free-falling academic statistics bear this out. Overall our student body is much weaker than it once was. And it's not merely an issue with state support; Pitt gets the same amount as we do, per capita etc, and they are thriving academically and have blown past us in just about every metric.

UNC has a state law that permits only 15% of students from out of state. That is as it should be, if you can pull it off, and they can. My state legislator is FULLY aware of the number of out of state students we are enrolling. I was asking him once about state funding for Pitt and PSU, and he essentially told me, paraphrased, "why should I fight to get more money for Penn State, when so many of their students aren't PA residents? Why should our tax dollars support them?". Which I admit, is a very valid point.

This is why those stupid emails from fat boy about fundraising success is just so much bullshit. It's lipstick on a pig, as it is meant to be. Only the terminally stupid actually believe it.

The people in charge are running this school into the ground. If there was anybody minding the store, there would be wholesale change demanded, but these people answer to no one. They are lining their own pockets at everybody else's expense, and nobody can stop them.

 

[BobPSU92]

If you’re taking more out of state students aren’t you making it more competitive for in state students who still make up the majority since there are fewer slots to fill? I don’t see why more out of state students lowers the academic profile. Also lower in state tuition may attract more instate applicants.

I think you will be told that Penn State takes garbage students because barren just sits around and eats onion dip and also because everyone hates us.

 

[Obliviax]

Leave it to Norm to put a negative spin on a zero % increase for instate students. When you have an instate student who is paying the same as last year, his tuition has not increased. That’s easy math, even for you. Why bother, other than to feed your compulsion to promote a negative agenda, to compute an “average” which is totally irrelevant to them. The individual in State student does pay more. His tuition is frozen. Period!

I don’t care what out of state students pay, and how much their increase is. It’s still far less expensive for them than a private university which is likely to charge about $60,000. So if they want to pay more to attend PSU, we should be glad the university is getting their money. It will help to keep the tuition frozen for Pennsylvania residents.

I’d like to think you are correct. IDK the facts but if you enroll less in state and more out of state to increase income you’ve defeated the purpose even though you can send out a press release to say it is more affordable. That’s just math.

My neighbors daughter had a 3.6 and applied to dental school so she can take over dads practice. She didn’t get into two prominent local schools, one her fathers alma mater. AT a tribe game, dad ended up in a suite with one of the dental schools deans. The dean told him that 80% of the kids in that class were either out of state or out of country. Out of country was 50% of the class. They were full tuition, no scholarships at all. It was simply a way to increase revenues.

Net net is that schools have abandoned the notion of providing an affordable education and have massively reduced their support of US students, let alone in state.

 

[LioninNC]

In North Carolina, there is a cap on the number of out of state students the universitys can enroll. I think it is something like 18%. This ensures that the majority of the seats go to NC resident students. Maybe the legislature should consider such a cap in PA,

 

[CF LION]

Personally I have a SR to be at PSU, am in-state, so very happy with a tuition freeze. In regards to it really isn't a freeze, that's all blahblahblah, to me it is a freeze end of story.

Yeah agree, that less in state students as a %, could very likely up academic profile of UP, as some of the lesser in state students won't get there. Conversely may lower branch campus profiles.

In regards to more in state apps, keep in mind PSU is still quite pricey as the the price is the price. The private schools and $60k price tags aren't real, no one pays that, its like buying a car.....

Back in 2010 when my daughter was applying to colleges, some private, she was always asked what other schools she was interested in and would always list Penn State. When the acceptance letters came, the private schools always offered some form of scholarship that got their tuition to almost equal that of Penn State.

Made me think she should have listed one of the state owned universities instead.....

 

[LurkerLazarus]

.

In regards to more in state apps, keep in mind PSU is still quite pricey as the the price is the price. The private schools and $60k price tags aren't real, no one pays that, its like buying a car.....

That's not true, dude. I know of kids that were friends of my children, going to places like Michigan, Northwestern, Cornell, Duke, etc. None of those kids got a dime of aid. Granted, we are all in a solidly middle/upper middle class community, but these are kids that the second tier of colleges were throwing money at left and right. Not a penny from the top end schools, though.

If you are good enough to get into Harvard, those schools are going to give you merit-based aid in order to lure you from the Ivie's. But if you aren't at that level, and your family has decent income, you are paying full ticket price, most likely.

 

[BobPSU92]

Please take this opportunity to remember that there is nothing good about Penn State.

 

[scottpsurules]

That's not true, dude. I know of kids that were friends of my children, going to places like Michigan, Northwestern, Cornell, Duke, etc. None of those kids got a dime of aid. Granted, we are all in a solidly middle/upper middle class community, but these are kids that the second tier of colleges were throwing money at left and right. Not a penny from the top end schools, though.

If you are good enough to get into Harvard, those schools are going to give you merit-based aid in order to lure you from the Ivie's. But if you aren't at that level, and your family has decent income, you are paying full ticket price, most likely.

Not my experience or countless others I know. Not arguing with you, but I will re-phrase, as there are so many great options. "The private schools and $60k price tags aren't real, no one IN THEIR RIGHT MIND pays that, its like buying a car.....

 

[Raffycorn]

Penn State should seriously consider the long-term viability of probably over half of the Commonwealth campuses. In reality, Penn State should be developing a plan to consolidate drastically, and move forward with University Park (obviously), Penn Tech, and a few other, larger branch campuses in strategic locations (Erie, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Philadelphia, and Altoona), with the campuses in larger metros developing more of a focus towards folks who already have career skills and who are either pursuing a professional masters or are looking to change careers. And, obviously, continuing to broaden the scope of the World Campus. There’s just no earthly reason for Penn State to have, for example, 3+ campuses in the Pittsburgh area that all have under 1,000 students. If the state pushes back against closing Penn State Fayette, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill or DuBois, then the state can find more money to keep them open. I know Pitt is considering closing a branch campus in Titusville because it’s a money pit, and they have four branches, not 19. We should be doing the same.

 

[LurkerLazarus]

Not my experience or countless others I know. Not arguing with you, but I will re-phrase, as there are so many great options. "The private schools and $60k price tags aren't real, no one IN THEIR RIGHT MIND pays that, its like buying a car.....

Well, that I will agree with!

We've had 4 kids in our social circle go to Notre Dame: full freight. Two to Northwestern: full price. Two to Duke: same thing. Michigan: full out of state tuition for at least 5 kids. Etc Etc.

Mind-boggling in expense. If some of that money could be used to feed the poor all of us would be better off. Instead, we are making BOT's across the country rich, along with their cronies.

 

[LurkerLazarus]

I know that one of the schools I mentioned, maybe ?Michigan, tells people that any family with a total income over $90,000 will receive no need-based aid. That is another way of saying that $90,000 family income is the cutoff, for a school that charges nearly $60K for out of state tuition.

Sure, that's affordable. For four years.

Granted, this is for out of state kids.

 

[bison13]

That's not true, dude. I know of kids that were friends of my children, going to places like Michigan, Northwestern, Cornell, Duke, etc. None of those kids got a dime of aid. Granted, we are all in a solidly middle/upper middle class community, but these are kids that the second tier of colleges were throwing money at left and right. Not a penny from the top end schools, though.

If you are good enough to get into Harvard, those schools are going to give you merit-based aid in order to lure you from the Ivie's. But if you aren't at that level, and your family has decent income, you are paying full ticket price, most likely.

Working in HS education for almost 20 years, I honestly can say that PSU has NEVER given the same amount of financial need based aid as any of the other mid-atlantic public universities. UMD, VT, UVA, give more for every kid I have ever worked with not matter the income level, GPA, ethnicity, etc.

 

[Nitwit]

Well, that I will agree with!

We've had 4 kids in our social circle go to Notre Dame: full freight. Two to Northwestern: full price. Two to Duke: same thing. Michigan: full out of state tuition for at least 5 kids. Etc Etc.

Mind-boggling in expense. If some of that money could be used to feed the poor all of us would be better off. Instead, we are making BOT's across the country rich, along with their cronies.

Finally something we agree on. Basically it’s the wealthy families who by paying full tuition at these very expensive universities ( and for many $60,000 isn’t a lot of money) wind up subsidizing the education of the average income student by providing the universities with the funds from which to make grants in aid to those students. I am amazed at what the tuition costs are at private secondary schools. Places like the Hun School, Lawrenceville School, the Peddie School and lots of the parochial schools charge the equivalent of what it costs to go to college, and wealthy families pay those costs annually throughout their child’s education. For them college tuition is no different from what they are used to.

 

[LurkerLazarus]

Those prep school parents paying $50K/yr to send their kids to private school for all 12 years, are making way too much money.

 

[Mudge1026]

Anybody know the cost of room and board at Penn St main campus vs branch campuses?

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

Anybody know the cost of room and board at Penn St main campus vs branch campuses?

http://tuition.psu.edu/tuitiondynamic/tuitionandfees.aspx