UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WTAJ) – The Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning has approved the operating budget next two academic years.

Tuition would be held flat for Pennsylvania resident undergraduate students at Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses and increase by 2% for in-state undergraduates at the University Park campus, according to a Penn State release.

The full board will review and vote on operating budgets and accompanying tuition and fees schedules for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years during its meeting on Friday, July 21.

Forty-three percent of Penn State’s total in-state undergraduate student body, would not see a tuition increase over the next two years. 

The proposed tuition schedules for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years include the following rate increases:

Commonwealth Campuses

  • No increase for in-state undergraduates.
  • 1% for out-of-state undergraduates.
  • 1% for in-state graduate students.
  • 2% for out-of-state graduate students.

University Park

  • 2% for in-state undergraduate and graduate students.
  • 4% for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students.

World Campus

  • 1% for all Penn State World Campus students (undergraduate and graduate).

Law schools

  • 2% for all law students.

College of Medicine

  • 4% for in-state medical students.
  • 4% for out-of-state medical students in 2023-24.
  • 14% for out-of-state medical students in 2024-25.

For the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years, the committee advanced proposed University-wide operating expense budgets of $9.5 billion and $9.6 billion, respectively.

Nearly three weeks after its June 30 deadline, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has not yet approved Penn State’s 2023-24 general support appropriation, funding that is used to help lower the cost of tuition for Pennsylvania students.

The commonwealth provides Penn State with approximately $5,750 per Pennsylvania resident undergraduate, an amount that the University significantly amplifies, providing each in-state undergraduate an average discount of $15,000 annually on tuition costs.

With more than 42,000 Pennsylvania resident students and their families relying on the in-state tuition discount, Penn State will direct other resources to cover in-state tuition costs until state funding is approved. As a result, the University will put a temporary hold on planned funding for general salary increases and the compensation modernization initiative until the impasse in Harrisburg is resolved.

You can find more information about Penn State’s decision here.