Updated at 1:40 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2022.
Penn State’s average room and board rate will increase by 3.5% for 2022-23 following approval by the university’s Board of Trustees on Friday.
Proposed rates were recommended by the board’s Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning on Thursday and approved by the full board on Friday, with trustees Alvin de Levie, Anthony Lubrano and Jay Paterno voting no.
The rate increase, will see a $212 per semester hike for students living in a standard double room and with a mid-level meal plan.
The standard double roomwill increase by $124 a semester to $3,687 and the most popular meal plan option would rise by $88 to $2,604 — making the total average room and board room and board rate $6,291 per semester.
Specific rates for each campus, room type and meal plan, will be published at liveon.psu.edu/rates.
John Papazoglou, associate vice president for Auxiliary and Business Services, called the increase “modest” — it’s just a bit higher than the 3.45% increase last year — but attributed much of the hike to “unprecedented inflation” for food costs and utilities as well as anticipated increases for employee payroll and benefits.
The total increase designates 2.33% for operating increases and 1.17% for capital investments. The latter includes the final two phases of East Halls renovations, which are expected to be completed by the end of June 2024, and renovations to Pollock Halls, which are expected to begin in 2024 and conclude in 2029.
Papazoglou also noted a number of deferred maintenance projects for housing and food services at multiple campuses.
“We are committed to doing our part to help reduce the overall cost of a Penn State education, and that includes doing everything we reasonably can to reduce our costs and find efficiencies in our operations so that room and board rates can be held as low as possible,” Papazoglou said.
Among the 14 Big Ten institutions, Penn State was seventh for room and board rates in 2021-22
This academic year, Penn State inaugurated a grant program providing grants to cover 25% of housing and food expenses for students with financial need at University Park and eight Commonwealth Campuses. The LiveOn Student Success Grant program awarded grants to 231 students in its initial years and has a target of 554 more for 2022-23.
