July 11, 2019
Smallbones /Wikimedia Commons
Tuition at state-owned universities in Pennsylvania, like West Chester University, above, will not increase for the 2019-20 academic year.
Pennsylvania students who attend one of the 14 state-owned universities won't pay more in tuition bills next academic year for the first time in more than two decades.
Full-time, in-state students will pay $7,716 annually — the same as last school year — for classes in 2019-20 after the State System of Higher Education's Board of Governors unanimously decided on Wednesday it would freeze tuition prices.
Nearly 90% of enrolled students at state-owned universities are Pennsylvania residents, the AP reported, but enrollment at the state schools has declined from 112,000 to 90,000 students in the last eight years.
Pennsylvania has 14 universities in the state system of higher education. The closest to Philadelphia are West Chester University and Cheyney University.
Without a tuition increase, there will be a projected budget hole of about $63 million, according to the AP. Government support for higher education is increasing 2% this year, to $477 million.
Temple University also announced this week that it would freeze tuition for in-state undergrads while increasing it by 2.9% for out-of-state students. Temple is a state-affiliate college that receives some of it funding from Pennsylvania. In-state tuition there costs $16,080, plus $890 in fees per year.
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