7 day forecast
Pennsylvania public universities say they'll limit tuition increases
Share with others:
HARRISBURG -- Gov. Tom Corbett appeared this morning with leaders of Pennsylvania's public universities to discuss the restoration of proposed cuts to higher education funding and announce limits to tuition increases next year.
When Senate leaders pushed to reverse cuts proposed by Mr. Corbett, they asked the state-related universities to hold tuition increases to the consumer price price index for the coming year.
Temple University has announced it will not increase tuition next year, and the president of Penn State University said today that tuition will increase 2.9 percent for Pennsylvania residents studying at the main campus in State College and 1.9 percent at satellite campuses.
Chancellor Mark Nordenberg of the University of Pittsburgh said the board will set tuition when it meets in two weeks, but he said any increase would remain beneath the index.
Legislation to fund the state-supported universities awaits final votes in both chambers.
In February, Mr. Corbett proposed reducing funding by 30 percent to the University of Pittsburgh and two other state-related universities and 20 percent to the system of 14 state-owned universities. But several months of higher-than-anticipated revenue collections allowed him to agree to higher spending, he said.
"The revenue surge means that we can restore, here in the final days of the fiscal year in planning for next year's budget, some of our proposed reductions," he said.
University leaders said the restorations would allow them to keep higher education accessible to students throughout the state.
"Pitt is known as one of the country's best-valued universities, and this budget will better position us to maintain that balance between affordability and quality," Mr. Nordenberg said.
First Published June 29, 2012 3:00 pm
