Editor’s note: The Penn State Board of Trustees voted to approve the University's 2024-25 state funding request, as outlined below, during its meeting on Sept. 8.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State leaders are requesting increased appropriations for the 2024-25 fiscal year that, if approved by the commonwealth, would narrow the per-student funding gap that exists between Penn State and Pennsylvania’s other public universities. The funding request is being submitted as a part of the commonwealth’s annual budget process.

During its meeting today (Sept. 7), the Penn State Board of Trustees’ Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning recommended for approval a total appropriation request of $483.4 million for 2024-25, representing an increase of $120.1 million, or 33%, over anticipated 2023-24 state funding. The full board will vote on the University’s appropriation request during its meeting on Sept. 8.

At this time, Penn State’s 2023-24 appropriation is still being reviewed by the state General Assembly, and the University remains optimistic that funding for the state-related universities will be approved within the next several weeks. However, Penn State is proceeding as usual with its 2024-25 funding request, in accordance with the instructions provided by the various commonwealth departments that appropriate funds to the University.

With Penn State’s per-student state funding ranking last among the commonwealth’s public universities, as well as significantly below the national average, Penn State is seeking a general support appropriation of $368.1 million for 2024-25, representing an increase of $108.8 million, or approximately 42%, over anticipated 2023-24 funding levels (based on the 7.1% increase proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in March). Penn State’s general support appropriation last increased in the 2019-20 fiscal year. This funding is used to provide a discounted in-state tuition rate that benefits more than 42,000 Pennsylvania-resident undergraduates and their families each year.

“Penn State and the commonwealth have much to be proud of from our historic land-grant partnership,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “We train the workforce of tomorrow to meet the state’s business needs. We are a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth. We solve challenges and create new knowledge thanks to our world-class faculty and research enterprise. And we use state funding to provide in-state students with a premier education at a significantly reduced cost right here in Pennsylvania.  

“We have worked very hard as an institution, particularly over the last decade, to minimize tuition increases while also revamping our budget and reducing costs, even in the face of historic inflation and stagnant appropriations. Increased support for Penn State is vital to our students, the communities we impact all across Pennsylvania, and the state’s long-term economic future.” 

As part of its appropriation request, Penn State also is urging the governor and General Assembly to collaborate with the state’s public universities to design simple and transparent performance-based funding metrics. Zack Moore, Penn State’s vice president for Government and Community Relations, said such legislation should tie funding incentives to the commonwealth’s needs and reward institutions for metrics such as educating Pennsylvania resident students, supporting low-income and first-generation students, fostering studies in high-need career fields, and serving traditionally underserved students.

Fair funding for Penn State’s students

In a state that ranks 49th nationally in per-student support for public higher education, Penn State receives the lowest funding on a per-student basis of any public university in Pennsylvania — despite educating more Pennsylvania residents than any other university in the state.

In 2022-23, Penn State received a general support appropriation of $242.1 million, which, divided evenly among 42,053 in-state undergraduates, equaled $5,757 per student. By comparison, in 2022-23, schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) received $8,754 per in-state student, Temple University received $9,233 per in-student, and the University of Pittsburgh received $9,436 per in-state student.

The requested increase in Penn State’s general support appropriation would raise the University’s funding to the same per-student level as the PASSHE universities.

“The fact that students attending Pennsylvania’s flagship, land-grant university are funded at a level that is between $3,000 and $3,700 less per student than the state’s other public universities is an imbalance we feel must be addressed,” said Moore. “Over the past 50 years, as Penn State's enrollment has increased, there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in state funding to keep pace. All Pennsylvanians benefit from the state’s investment in Penn State, and additional support is vital to our efforts to provide affordable, high-quality degree programs that are attractive to top students and meet the needs of the state’s employers.”

An increase in Penn State’s general support appropriation would directly benefit Pennsylvania students and their families. Even as state funding has lagged inflation — state appropriations are less today in real dollars than they were in 2010-11 — Penn State, in accordance with its land-grant mission to educate the citizens of the commonwealth, has continued to provide an in-state tuition discount that far exceeds the per-student appropriation. Penn State significantly amplifies the state’s $5,757 per-student investment, with the average Pennsylvania resident undergraduate paying $15,000 less for tuition annually than their nonresident peers.

If approved by the General Assembly and governor, Penn State would use the funding increase to address access and affordability for Pennsylvania students, including need-based student financial aid; invest in high-demand programs that align with the commonwealth’s workforce needs, such as engineering, computer science, information sciences and technology, education and health care; perform deferred maintenance on essential education facilities; and provide modest salary increases for faculty and staff, which are necessary to retain top talent and provide students with world-class learning experiences.

Penn State’s appropriation request by the numbers

Overall, Penn State’s total $483.4 million appropriation request for 2024-25 breaks down as follows:

• General Support: $368.1 million, an increase of $108.8 million, or 42%, over anticipated 2023-24 funding. General support funding covers core teaching costs in Penn State’s education budget, allowing the University to offer an in-state tuition rate that directly impacts thousands of Pennsylvania students and their families. These dollars also enable Penn State to invest in the quality of its academic programs so that it can attract the state’s top students and prepare them for successful careers in Pennsylvania.

• Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension: $61.7 million, an increase of $4 million, or 7%, over anticipated 2023-24 funding. Agricultural research and extension programs are not funded by tuition, so appropriation increases are necessary to keep pace with rising costs and to leverage matching federal and county dollars. This funding supports Penn State Extension and the vital research conducted by the College of Agricultural Sciences, benefiting citizens in every Pennsylvania county and helping the state’s agriculture industry combat challenges ranging from highly pathogenic avian influenza to the spotted lanternfly.

• Emerging and Advanced Technology Initiative: Penn State also is requesting an additional $2 million in new funding to implement the Emerging and Advanced Technology Initiative within the College of Agricultural Sciences. This initiative is intended to enhance the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of Pennsylvania agriculture through emerging technology applications and integrations.

• Pennsylvania College of Technology: $33.1 million, an increase of $4.4 million, or 15.5%, over anticipated 2023-24 funding. Penn College, a special-mission Penn State affiliate, offers nearly 100 academic programs focused on hands-on, applied-technology education that is critical to Pennsylvania’s workforce needs. This requested increase would place Penn College’s per-student funding on par with PASSHE and benefit the college’s 4,400 students, 90% of whom are Pennsylvania residents. The funding would create broader access to in-demand programs such as nursing, welding, building automation, HVAC, electrical and IT-cybersecurity that are needed by employers across the commonwealth.

• Penn State Health and the College of Medicine: $16.1 million, an increase of $765,000, or 5%, over anticipated 2023-24 funding. This funding is used for medical assistance to provide access to high-quality health care for citizens with limited financial means. This funding also helps to prepare medical students for careers in primary care and rural medicine through the Regional Medical Campus at University Park, as well as support programs to enhance the overall health and wellness of Pennsylvanians, particularly in rural areas.

• Invent Penn State: $2.35 million, as a co-investment with the University to drive economic development. This funding would be used to strengthen and grow Invent Penn State’s LaunchBox and Innovation Network, and to further expand access to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program for small to medium enterprises, with an emphasis on the manufacturing sector.

Penn State will submit its 2024-25 appropriation request to the state in October, and the University will be engaged in discussions with leaders in Harrisburg over the next nine months until a final appropriation is set by the General Assembly and governor as part of the state’s budget process in late June 2024.