PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The board in charge of the 14 state-owned Pennsylvania universities has voted unanimously to keep tuition levels steady for the third year in a row. The decision comes as students wrestle with debt and colleges try to find solutions to decreasing enrollment.
This is an unprecedented step by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). At its meeting Thursday, members had to consider increasing tuition at the 14 state universities by 1% or not at all.
"I was thinking of beginning with Robert Frost. 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both,'" said Dr. Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of PASSHE, at the beginning of the dicsussion.
Greenstein said Pennsylvania needs to meet its workforce development goals and make sure all students, regardless of income, race or ethnicity, can go to college. But he said they can’t go if the cost is beyond their means, especially during a pandemic.
"I am going to recommend that we hold tuition and the technology fee flat for a third year, and that we return to this issue again next year, at which point we will know which road we traveled," Greenstein said.
Board member Tom Muller also suggested, tentatively, that tuition be frozen for 2022-23 as well, saying the state cannot continue to heap the cost of higher education on students.
The action comes as PASSHE is considering merging a number of schools that are losing students to community colleges and other less-expensive options.
The board has never before in its history, kept in-state tuition the same for three years running.