It is too soon to tell if tuition will increase next year for undergraduate students attending one of the 10 colleges in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget keeps the funding allocation flat at $625 million for the system, which comprises Slippery Rock; Indiana; Shippensburg; Millersville; Kutztown; Cheyney; East Stroudsburg; West Chester; Pennsylvania Western, which has campuses in California, Clarion and Edinboro; and Commonwealth, which has campuses in Mansfield, Bloomsburg and Lock Haven.

“The typical question I get at this point is, ‘Does this mean you’re going to raise tuition?’” PASSHE Chancellor Christopher Fiorentino told TribLive. “The answer to that is, it’s too soon to tell.”

The system’s board of governors in October requested the state increase its funding allocation by 5% in the 2026-27 school year. Doing so would enable the system to freeze undergraduate in-state tuition, officials said at the time.

Last July, the board had increased tuition 3.6% for this school year following seven consecutive years of frozen tuition.

Tuition for in-state, undergraduate students at state-owned universities is $3,997 per semester, and $7,994 per year, according to PASSHE.

Nearly 90% of students in the system are state residents, and 80% attend full time.

“We are extremely appreciative of the support that we receive from the General Assembly and the Governor and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and in return for that, we are prepared to graduate students who are highly skilled, prepared to enter into the job market and meet the needs of businesses and other organizations in the commonwealth,” Fiorentino said.

The PASSHE board determines in-state undergraduate tuition rates. Each university establishes its own graduate and out-of-state undergraduate tuition rates, along with student room, board and mandatory fees.

The PASSHE board won’t make a decision on tuition until its July meeting, Fiorentino said. System leaders look at enrollment, retention and applications at the universities and follow negotiations between the state legislature and the governor before coming to that decision.

Shapiro’s budget proposal calls for level funding across all higher education sectors. It does, however, include a $30 million pool for a performance-based grant for state-related institutions — the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and Temple.

Funding methodology for the performance-based grant was approved during the 2025-26 state legislative session but received no funding in the final state budget. It considers student demographics, graduation rates, affordability and high-demand degree production at the state-related institutions.

Pitt’s general appropriation would remain flat at $151.5 million. Penn State’s is at $242.1 million.

“We all play a critical role in the needs of the commonwealth,” Fiorentino said. “None of these sectors alone can provide enough graduates to support the businesses and other organizations in the commonwealth; so to the extent that decision was made to recommend incentives for performance funding for the state-relateds, I respect that.”

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