Harrisburg, PA– The leadership of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) issued the following statement on the 2022-23 state budget passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Tom Wolf.

The 2022-23 state budget invests$552.5millionin PASSHE, a$75millionincrease from $477.5 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year. This is the largest single-year increase PASSHE has received from the state and will benefit students by allowing the State System to hold tuition flat for the fourth consecutive year, despite inflation.

Additionally, the budget provides$125million in one-timeAmerican Rescue Plan Act funding to support System Redesign.In total, the budget invests $677.5millionin the state-owned university system and its students.

Historic Investment
"We are incredibly appreciative of the governor and General Assembly for this historic investment in the 90,000 students that our PASSHE universities serve,” said Cynthia Shapira, chair of the Board of Governors. “This unprecedented additional funding recognizes that State System universities have kept their promises to the state with a redesign that is delivering positive results for our commonwealth and more opportunities for our students. The renewed strength of our partnership with state leaders and all Pennsylvanians is the result of deliberate, intentional and hard-won efforts by our faculty, staff and students.”

“This investment is great news for current and prospective students and creates a much better chance that Pennsylvania businesses will have the educated workforce they need to compete and succeed,” said PASSHE Chancellor Daniel Greenstein. “With this investment, the State System universities will fully move forward with the most impactful phase of our redesign – expanding opportunities and improving outcomes for all our students, including reaching students who have been historically underserved by universities and colleges generally.”

One-Time American Rescue Plan Act Funding
“As an engine of workforce development, PASSHE universities are redesigning to help fill the shortage of well-educated workers that businesses need,” said Shapira. “We greatly appreciate the governor and General Assembly appropriating $125million in one-time federal funds to support the redesign. This investment will help these state-owned universities equip themselves to serve more students even better and expand credential programs for those who are looking to reskill or upskill. We are proud of our mission to provide a high-quality education to middle- and low-income students and set them on a career path for good jobs in their own state.”

PASSHE Facts:

• Basic tuition for in-state undergraduate students has been $7,716 for the last three years.
• Nearly 90% of PASSHE students are from Pennsylvania, and two-thirds of our students live and work in Pennsylvania 10 years after graduation. We are the people’s universities.
• PASSHE works closely with local employers to design credentials that meet their needs, and we annually confer nearly 24,000 degrees – the great majority of them in high-demand industries like STEM, healthcare, business and education.
• PASSHE is controlling costs, trimming $173 million in operating expenses and forgoing at least $63 million through the three years of tuition freezes between 2019-2020 and 2021-22, all while investing $100 million in student financial aid in addition to the aid provided by state and federal governments and other sources.
• PASSHE universities contributed $4 billion in economic impact to Pennsylvania, representing $8.30 for every dollar of state funds invested in them.
• More than 800,000 System alumni live in Pennsylvania, and most state-owned universities are among the largest employers in their communities.
  

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