Three Percent Tuition Increase Approved for State Universities
The higher rates will be effective for the 2012-2013 school year.
Bucks and Montgomery County students attending one of the 14 Pennsylvania state colleges in the fall will have to pay a little bit more for their tuition.
The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Monday approved a 3 percent tuition increase for the 2012-13 academic year.
The increase amounts to an extra $188 per year, or $94 each semester. The total tuition cost for a full time, resident undergraduate student will be $6,428. Taking into account additional fees, room and board, the average total cost for a state university is about $16,000, said PASSHE spokesperson Kenn Marshall.
Are you a student, a parent? Is $16,000/year for a state university worth the price to you? Leave a comment.
According to a report released in June by the U.S. Department of Education, the national average cost of a public, four-year college has increased 15 percent to $6,669 between 2008 and 2010. In comparison, the average tuition cost for a private four year, not-for-profit university has increased by 9.7 percent to $21,949.
"Tuition alone at a private university in Pennsylvania ranges from the lowest at $20,000 to $40,000," said Marshall.
Marshall said the additional funds will help cover rising utility, health care and employee compensation costs. With Governor Tom Corbett's 2012-2013 budget providing the same $240 million of state support for the universities as last year, the increase was needed to keep up with expenses.
The PASSHE also increased tuition technology fee by $10 to $358 for the full academic year for full-time resident students and by $16 to $542 for full-time nonresident students. According to a release, all funds raised by the technology fee are used to directly benefit student learning. Universities have used the funds to install new computer labs and to design multi-media classrooms, among other projects.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.
