Penn State poised to raise tuition, other costs for 2027-28 academic year. What to know

Penn State’s trustees are poised to vote and pass a budget package for the 2027-28 academic year on Friday that would raise tuition, fees and housing, along with food rates, for most students — with University Park students and out-of-state students generally set to see bigger increases.

The Board of Trustees’ Finance and Investment Committee reviewed and unanimously recommended approval of the proposed budget package Thursday for the 2027-28 academic year, as the 2026-27 budget was already approved last year. The 2027-28 proposal includes a tuition increase of 2.5% for in-state undergraduate students at University Park, a 4% increase for out-of-state undergraduate students at University Park and a 1% increase for out-of-state undergraduate students at commonwealth campuses.

For the fifth straight year, in-state tuition for undergraduate students at commonwealth campuses would not increase under the plan.

The full board of trustees will formally vote on the committee’s recommendation Friday afternoon at Williamsport’s Pennsylvania College of Technology, a special mission affiliate of Penn State that mostly operates independently.

Sara Thorndike, Penn State’s senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, said Thursday that the planned commonwealth campus closures are shifting more of the university’s financial costs on University Park. However, the campus is planning to enroll more students in the coming year to cover those costs.

“The closure of the seven campuses is putting more of the administrative and the student support costs on University Park, which is appropriate because there are now more colleges, more activity from an enrollment perspective at University Park than at the commonwealth campuses,” she said. “This change is really accounting for the closure of those campuses and the budget allocation changes that needed to happen.”

A major driver of the proposed tuition increase, according to Thorndike, is that the future 2028-29 budget had to fill the estimated loss of nearly $79 million due to lower enrollment and revenue primarily due to campus closures, international enrollment declines, and reduced graduate enrollment tied to research funding.

However, Thorndike also explained that the campus closures are predicted to generate tens of millions in recurring annual savings starting in the 2028 fiscal year, which is already built into the budget and helps avoid larger tuition hikes.

“The recurring savings build up progressively over several years, and beginning in FY28 they total $46 million in recurring net savings that we were able to remove from the budget as a result of those closures,” she said.

Under the proposal, graduate tuition increases would match last year’s rates, with in-state students facing a 2% increase at University Park and 1% at commonwealth campuses, while out-of-state graduate students would see increases of 4% and 2%, respectively.

The tuition increases are intended to help offset about $70 million in annual salary and benefit cost increases within Penn State’s Educational and General budget, including faculty and staff merit raises, faculty promotions and an estimated $20 million in higher healthcare and benefit costs, Thorndike said. Those costs exclude athletics, housing, dining and research-funded positions.

Trustee Brandon Short, a finance committee member, said he will reluctantly support the tuition increase and called for systematic change from raising tuition costs for the last six years. He suggested that relying on annual tuition increases is not a sustainable long-term strategy and that a different approach is needed.

“In every meeting, we come and we’re faced with the same issue. ... We all hold our noses and vote for the increase,” he said. “But at some point … we’re going to have to think outside the box and try something new because doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.”

It would be the seventh consecutive year the university has raised tuition. Last year, in-state undergraduates at University Park saw a 2% increase for the 2026-27 academic year, meaning the 2027-28 academic year is poised to see a slightly higher increase of 2.5%. All the other undergraduate categories throughout all the campuses follow their same rate increase as last year.

Other proposed tuition and cost increases in the budget package:

• Higher tuition rates for some majors: Students at Penn State Dickinson Law would get a 2% increase, while the College of Medicine would see a 2% increase for in-state students and 4% for out-of state students. World Campus would get a 2% increase for all graduate and undergraduate Penn State students.
• Higher student fees: The student-initiated fee, which is set annually by students, would increase by $10 per semester to $330 for University Park students enrolled in at least nine credits and by $9 to $324 at most commonwealth Campuses. The $80 per-semester facilities fee at Great Valley would remain unchanged.
• Housing and food rates increasing: At University Park, the combined cost of housing and the Signature Dining Plan would increase by $194 per semester, or 2.5%, to $7,948. Housing rates would increase 2.5%, while the dining plan would increase $75 per semester. At seven commonwealth campuses, housing rates would increase 1.5%, while housing rates would remain unchanged at the Greater Allegheny, Hazleton and Schuylkill campuses. The Signature Dining Plan would increase by $42 per semester at all commonwealth campuses with residential dining.

Overall Budget

The committee recommended for approval Penn State’s 2027-28 all-funds budget, projecting $11.1 billion in revenue and including a balanced $2.9 billion Educational and General (E&G) budget — which funds the university’s core teaching, research and public service operations — for the third consecutive year. Penn State Health will account for nearly half of projected revenue at $5.21 billion, followed by $2.37 billion from tuition and fees and $1.29 billion from grants and contracts.

The full board will vote on the budget proposal in a public meeting on 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport and via livestream.

Paloma Pimentel

Centre Daily Times