Pennsylvania's state university system voted on Wednesday to freeze in-state tuition costs for the sixth year in a row, bucking the trend of rising tuition at many colleges across the country.
In-state undergraduates will continue to pay just $7,716 per year, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Officials pointed to a $35.1 million boost in funding approved in the state budget signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last week.
The budget deal also introduces a new scholarship program, Grow Pennsylvania, allowing the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to offer in-state tuition to out-of-state freshmen who enroll in an approved program and pledge to work in Pennsylvania post-graduation.
"We will have seen our funding increase by one-third, just in the past five years," Cynthia Shapira, chair of the PASSHE Board of Governors, said at a Wednesday board meeting. "That is just truly remarkable."
The undergraduate tuition rate does not include additional expenses such as room and board. There are nearly 83,000 students in the system, and each school sets its own out-of-state and graduate tuition rates.
"PASSHE appreciates the governor and legislature for their strong support of our students and this investment in the state system," Chancellor Dan Greenstein told WHTM. "Keeping tuition frozen for a seventh consecutive year will help more students get a college education and deliver on PASSHE's mission to provide a quality higher education at the lowest cost to students."
The PASSHE schools include Cheyney, West Chester, Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Millersville, Indiana, Slippery Rock, Commonwealth and PennWest universities.
