PA's 3 Largest Universities Hiking 2021-22 Tuition

PENNSYLVANIA — After holding the line on tuition for the pandemic-plagued 2020-21 school year, the state's three largest universities have announced increases for 2021-22. Trustees of Temple University, Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh have approved 2.5 percent tuition hikes.

That increase applies to in-state resident students. Students who live out of state will pay higher amounts.

At Penn State, tuition for in-state freshmen and sophomores will increase by $448 to $18,368. Rate hikes for juniors and seniors depend on individual majors and will range from $484 to $574 a year, with tuition varying from $19,816 to $23,562.

The student activity fee will remain at $530 per year.

Penn State President Eric Barron said in a news release that the university always strives to keep tuition increases low or flat.

“This year’s modest rise, though necessary to keep up with inflation and the university’s own rising costs, was held to the lowest percentage possible while still allowing us to deliver the
world-class academic and student experiences that make Penn State so special," he said.

At Pitt, the 2.5 percent tuition increase applies to students at the main Pittsburgh campus. Students attending branch campuses face a 1.5 percent hike. Additionally, on-campus housing costs will rise by approximately 5 percent at the Pittsburgh campus and between 2 and 4 percent at branch campuses. Dining costs at all campuses will rise by approximately 3 percent.

"Pitt’s operating and capital budgets for fiscal year 2022 represent our institution’s first steps toward a new, post-pandemic normal and a return to in-person instruction this fall," Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said in a statement on the university website. "The approved budgets balance
our efforts to move on from last year’s (pandemic-related) budget disruption and begin to engage in a fuller recovery."

At Temple, the 2.5 percent increase will hit both in-state and out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students. Base tuition for in-state students will be $16,488; it's the university's first in-state tuition increase since the 2018-19 school year.

The student activity and other fees will remain the same.

Ken Kaiser, Temple's chief financial officer and treasurer said the university cut its budget 3 percent to keep the tuition increase as low as possible.

“We’re aware that this is still a financially difficult time for students and families, so we’ve worked to strike the balance between a slight tuition increase and a slight budget cut," Kaiser said on the university website.

"That helps us ensure that we do not harm students’ educational experience here at Temple.
That’s especially important this year as we expect campus to regain the vibrancy it was known for prior to the pandemic.”

Temple, Pitt and Penn State legally enjoy state-related status, enabling them to receive annual state appropriations in exchange for offering discounted tuition for in-state students and minority representation on their respective board of trustees.

They are not members of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which owns 14 state universities. That agency has approved the controversial move of consolidating six of those institutions into two new universities.

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