Universities Raise Tuition Following Deep Budget Cuts

By Yasmin Tadjdeh | PA Independent

If Pennsylvania universities lose state funding, they simply raise tuition. For the 2011-12 school year, the Legislature reduced spending at the 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, or PASSHE, universities by about $70 million, or 14.5 percent. The state-related universities saw 19 percent state-level funding cuts, which included the following amounts:

• Pennsylvania State, or Penn State, cut by about $63 million.
• University of Pittsburgh, or Pitt, cut by $31.2 million.
• Temple University, cut by $32.82 million.
• Lincoln University, cut by $2.62 million.

Penn State and Lincoln have not finalized their budgets. Penn State was expected to make a decision July 15 at its Board of Trustees meeting, while Lincoln has not set a date. 

A little here and there adds up at Pitt 

At Pitt, small increases in tuition for students at its various campuses are expected to generate up to $28 million, leaving it about $4 million short of making up for the cut in state money. 

“Tuition is a component of keeping the university running,” said John Harvith, Pitt’s senior associate vice chancellor. 

The general tuition for in-state students at the Pittsburgh campus will go up 8.5 percent to $15,272, with out-of-state students taking a 4 percent hike. In-state and out-of-state students at the Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown and Titusville campuses will see tuitions increase by 4 percent. The additional tuition increases depend on the campus and program. However, these increases should come as no surprise. 

“Students, I think, are used to tuition increases,” said John Fedele, Pitt’s associate director of news, who added that he does not expect enrollment to decline. 

To help students in need, Pitt has pooled money from endowments, investments and private donations to offer $13 million more in financial aid. 

Despite the tuition increases, Pitt is facing a $70 million budget gap, resulting, in part, from operating expenses and state spending cuts. 

In-state students hit hard at Temple 

Like Pitt, Temple is relying on tuition increases, because “support from the state has been on the decline in the past few decades,” said Ray Betzner, Temple’s assistant vice president for university communications. 

However, in-state students will carry the burden with a 9 percent increase, raising their tuition by $1,172 to $13,006. Based on a projected enrollment of 27,600 students, Temple is expected to receive about $30 million, only about $3 million shy of making up its state funding cut. 

Temple will offer $6.8 million more in merit-based financial aid, which will be taken from operating costs. 

Students will pay more, though Temple will be providing fewer services as it grapples with $36 million in cuts. This year, the university is eliminating bus service between campuses and scaling back on adjunct professors, among others, Betzner said. 

PASSHE schools have lowest increase 

In-state students at the 14 PASSHE schools pay 7.5 percent more but their overall contribution of $56 million will cover a little more than half of the system’s state funding cut. Each school sets its own tuition. 

“We were committed from the start not to put the entire cut on the students,” said Kenn Marshall, a PASSHE spokesman, but “tuition had to make up some of the reductions.” 

Since 2002-2003 school year, PASSHE schools have saved about $53 million through energy-saving initiatives including solar-panel roofs on some buildings and automatic controls to regulate light and temperature. Further green initiatives will save the schools $190 million during the next 15 years, he said. 

PASSHE universities also offered a voluntary retirement incentive program for faculty members last year only, which saved $10 million, said Marshall. 

In total, the schools have cut $220 million during the past decade through various cost-saving measures. 

Marshall said despite the tuition increase, PASSHE universities “continue to be the lowest-cost option” for students in Pennsylvania. 

As students prepare to return to college, rising tuitions may alter their plans. 

Tim Matusiewicz, a Penn State student about to start his freshmen year, said that if his tuition increases, he may have to attend his local community college in Virginia to save money. He said his mother’s G.I. bill benefits only will cover his tuition for two years. 

“A tuition increase is only going to hold students back. Other programs should be cut before limiting the potential of Penn State students,” Matusiewicz said.