Penn State’s general support appropriation from the state will stay level for the third consecutive year, despite a request from the university and proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf to increase the funding.
The General Assembly on Thursday approved a non-preferred appropriations bill that includes $242.1 million in general support for Penn State, funds that subsidize tuition for in-state students.
Penn State had asked for a 5% or $12.1 million, general support increase, but did get some of what it had requested, however, with a 5% boost for Agricultural Research and Extension and $2.35 million in new funding for the Invent Penn State innovation and entrepreneurship program.
University President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement that the general support appropriation is “critical” to maintaining an “affordable” education for Pennsylvania students, but continued flat funding will present challenges.
“This year there are positive elements like increased funding for the College of Agricultural Sciences that will benefit the vital research and extension work that impacts the state’s agriculture industry and rural communities, as well as new support for Invent Penn State that will enhance the work Penn State is already doing to spark economic development, revitalization and entrepreneurial activity all across Pennsylvania,” Bendapudi said.
“However, it is important to emphasize a broader context. Inflationary pressures, revenue losses from the pandemic, demographic shifts and other factors driving cost, coupled with successive years of flat funding, pose significant challenges for the university and will require us to look deeply at our budget and spending in the coming year.”
The state’s 2022-23 budget process included several attempts by House Republicans to tie funding for Penn State and the other state-related universities — Pitt, Temple and Lincoln — to new requirements.
One sought to require the universities to swear under oath that they do not “engage in research or experimentation using fetal tissue obtained from an elective abortion,” a measure specifically targeted at Pitt. Another amendment introduced by state Rep. Aaron Bernstine would have mandated Penn State to disclose the location and condition of the Joe Paterno statue for the university to receive its appropriation.
Neither measure ultimately made it into the final legislation.
Penn State’s last funding increase came in 2019-20 with a 2% bump ($4.75 million), and each of the past two years university officials said they were appreciative the legislature kept funding in tact.
This year, however, as the state was flush with cash from billions in stimulus money and surplus tax revenue, the university noted in a press release that Penn State’s per-student state funding of $5,400 for its approximately 45,000 Pennsylvania resident undergraduates is the lowest of any public school in Pennsylvania and far below the national average.
“We are disappointed that the General Assembly chose not to increase Penn State’s general support appropriation, as the university had requested and Gov. Wolf had proposed,” Zack Moore, Penn State vice president for government and community relations, said in a statement. “Pennsylvania students and their families are the direct beneficiaries of this funding, saving them thousands of dollars each on the total cost of a degree. After freezes to the university’s funding each of the last two years, and in the midst of nearly unprecedented inflation and state budget surpluses, Penn State and its students — particularly lower- and middle-income students — count on state support to help meet rising costs and to help mitigate impacts on tuition.”
Funding for the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, a special-mission affiliate of the university, remained flat at $26.7 million. Penn State Health and the College of Medicine funding also remained level, while appropriations for clinical care programs and resources increased by 6%.
The $57.7 million appropriated for Penn State Agricultural Research and Extension represents a $2.7 million increase over last year, the first time its funding has increased since 2019. Ag research and extension programs do not use tuition dollars and rely on state and federal funding.
“Increased state support is vital to Penn State’s efforts to support agricultural education, serve rural communities, and provide research-based solutions to address the challenges facing Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry,” according to a university news release.
The $2.35 million for Invent Penn State — which was launched in 2015 to bolster economic development, job creation and student career success — will “help the university to strengthen and grow the LaunchBox and Innovation Hub Network, expand established entrepreneurship training programs with additional staffing and support services, and increase access to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program to support more businesses,” according to the university.
Penn State’s Board of Trustees will vote on a budget and tuition rates during its meeting July 21-22 at the York campus. Last year’s $7.7 billion budget included a 2.5% tuition increase for Pennsylvania resident undergraduate students and 2.75% for non-residents. Prior to that, Penn State froze tuition for three consecutive years.
Tuition varies based on residency status, year and major. Tuition was $18,368 for in-state freshmen and sophomores and $35,946 for out-of-state.
