GOP Urges PA Universities To Cancel Tuition Hikes

PENNSYLVANIA — Citing inflation and lingering impacts of the pandemic, several Pennsylvania colleges have decided to raise tuition for the coming school year, despite calls from Republican lawmakers to keep costs static. Schools say that funding has dried up and they can't afford basic services with reorganizing their budgets, while some local lawmakers say schools are not efficiently using their federal funding.

Penn State has been joined by Temple University, University of Pittsburgh, and Lincoln University in announcing notable hikes in cost in recent weeks.

GOP gubernatorial candidate and State Sen. Doug Mastriano said that the money given to schools by the state $600 million for 2022-23, along with the 5 percent increase schools received in federal stimulus money, should be enough.

"Pennsylvania’s families simply cannot afford a tuition hike in addition to the rising costs in other parts of the economy,” Mastriano said in a letter he wrote to the group of schools. "These universities have received enough supplemental funding from the state for the upcoming year to avoid unnecessary tuition increases."

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said that his school's increases — 3.5 percent for in-state students, and 5.5 percent for those from out of state — were well below the current inflation rate.

"My decision considered the rate of inflation, intense competition in the labor markets, and the fact that we are following two years in which many faculty and staff salaries were largely held flat during the pandemic," Gallagher said.

Penn State similarly raised in-state tuition 5 percent at the University Park campus, and a 2 percent increase at other campuses. Non-residents would see a 6 percent increase at University Park and a 3 percent increase elsewhere.

"We understand the impact of a tuition increase on our students and families, and we do not take the decision to raise tuition lightly," Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the circumstances of our current budget made these increases necessary in order to maintain the highest-quality educational experiences for our students."

In addition to "historic" inflation and lower revenues and enrollment during the pandemic, Penn State said it has received less state funding per resident student than any other undergraduate university in the state.

Mastriano acknowledged these contingencies, but the math seems to not be lining up for both sides.

“I realize the economic forces at work have not spared higher education,” Mastriano wrote in his letter. “Although a tuition hike offers a straightforward solution, it will cost Pennsylvania far more in the long run in lost economic opportunity.”

While the four schools that raised tuition are not considered "state" schools, they do fall under a "state-related" category and receive notable funding from the state.

Several of the schools noted that the tuition raises alone would not be enough to cover costs, and that budgets would need to be slashed in other areas heading into next school year.

Costs at Temple, Pitt, Penn State, Lincoln, and state schools had been frozen since the pandemic.