By KAREN WHITNEY
HARRISBURG – Continuing efforts by the universities to contain their costs, combined with a second straight year of increased investment by the commonwealth, helped enable the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education to approve the smallest percentage tuition increase in more than a decade.
The $89-per-semester increase approved July 14, by the board for the 2016-17 academic year will set the base tuition rate for most full-time Pennsylvania residents – who comprise about 90 percent of all State System students – at $3,619 per semester, or $7,238 for the full year. Even with the modest increase, the State System universities will remain the lowest-cost option among all four-year colleges and universities in the state.
The 14 State System universities have eliminated nearly $300 million in expenditures from their combined operating budgets over the last decade in order to balance their budgets and to help hold down student costs. The commonwealth meanwhile has boosted funding to the State System by about $31.5 million over the last two years, after seven straight years of flat or reduced general fund appropriations.
“The universities have worked extremely hard to control their day-to-day operating costs, even in the face of enormous fiscal challenges,” said Cynthia D. Shapira, newly elected board of governors chair. “Many of those challenges remain; but, with the benefit of increased funding from the state again this year, the board was able to approve a very modest tuition increase for next year.
“We are grateful to the legislature and Gov. Wolf for the increased investment in our students and our universities, and we pledge to make the most of that investment, to help ensure our students have continued access to high-quality, high-value educational experiences that will lead to their future success.”
The recently passed 2016-17 state budget includes about $444.2 million for the State System, up from about $412.8 million in 2014-15. The system received an approximately $20.6 million increase last year and will get an additional $10.8 million this year.
“The funding we receive from the state represents an important investment that benefits not only our students, but also the commonwealth, where the vast majority of our students reside and where they will remain after graduation to live, work and raise their families,” said Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “Their success is very much tied to Pennsylvania’s success.”
Even with the consecutive increases in commonwealth support, the State System will receive about $60 million less from the state this year than it did in 2007-08, just before the onset of the recession that severely impacted both the state and national economies and led to several years of funding cuts to the system.
Nonresident, undergraduate tuition also will increase by 2.5 percent and will range from $10,858 to $18,096 for the 2016-17 academic year. The technology fee will be $448 for full-time resident students, and $682 for full-time nonresidents.
The resident, graduate tuition rate will be $483 per credit, an increase of $13. The nonresident, graduate tuition rate will increase by $20 per credit, to $725.
Gap analysis study reveals Pa.’s future workforce needs
Nearly one million skilled jobs will need to be filled across Pennsylvania through 2024, with the greatest need in the areas of healthcare, business and finance, and computer and mathematical occupations. Significant workforce gaps could occur in many of those high-demand fields, meaning there won’t be enough educated workers to fill all of the available positions.
Shortages also could occur in middle skill jobs those generally requiring significant education and training beyond high school, but less than a bachelor’s degree in occupation categories such as maintenance and repair workers, industrial machinery mechanics and computer-controlled machine tool operators.
Those are among the findings of a gap analysis study conducted by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education and unveiled, in part, July 14, at a meeting of the State System’s Board of Governors. Recognizing the economic diversity of the commonwealth, the analysis was conducted by the State System both at the statewide and regional levels.
The statewide findings have been released; regional findings will be available this fall.
Answering the question, “Where are the workforce gaps in Pennsylvania,” the study will help policy makers and educators make key decisions about the types of programs that should be offered in order to best meet the needs of students and their future employers. The information provided by the study also could assist students as they make their college choices.
Calling it a valuable resource to higher education and both state and regional policy makers, State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan said the gap analysis “is only one component of a larger resource base that the State System and universities can use for program development, strategic planning, engagement with businesses and support for current and prospective students.”
The study is the third piece of a data-driven package designed to help the State System universities increase their impact on Pennsylvania’s economy, both individually and collectively.
The first component, prepared by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and released earlier this year, demonstrated the increasing importance of college graduates in the state’s workforce and highlighted the significant role the State System plays in supporting that workforce.
The second component included a series of reports commenting on the state of the workforce, including industry, jobs and socio-economic indicators for Pennsylvania and its regions.
The final piece provides an analysis of current and future workforce needs and to what extent higher education is meeting those needs. Specifically, the study was designed to project the outlook for skilled jobs, to identify which industries will drive future job growth, and to determine where gaps could exist between future job openings and the number of individuals educated to fill those jobs.
The gap analysis evaluated 445 skilled occupations in Pennsylvania to identify occupational categories where employer demand at the state level will exceed what universities are likely to provide through the year 2024. The overall job growth rate for the state during that time is projected at 9.5 percent.
The projected growth of skilled jobs is higher than the overall growth rate and that for low-skilled jobs (8.1 percent). Skilled jobs in Pennsylvania are projected to grow by 10.9 percent while those in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and healthcare, also referred to as STEM-H, are projected to grow by 15.6 percent.
Substantial gaps are projected for registered nurses, accountants and auditors, computer systems analysts, maintenance and repair workers, computer programmers, medical and clinical laboratory technologists, software developers, dental hygienists, sales representatives and market research analysts.
To view all of the reports, go to: www.passhe.edu.
Whitney’s contract among ten extended by board
The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has extended the contracts of Chancellor Frank T. Brogan and ten university presidents. The extensions run through June 30, 2019.
Presidents receiving one-year extensions to their contracts were David L. Soltz, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; Karen M. Whitney, Clarion University of Pennsylvania; Marcia G. Welsh, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania; Michael A. Driscoll, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Kenneth S. Hawkinson, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania; Michael Fiorentino Jr., Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania; Francis L. Hendricks, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania; John M. Anderson, Millersville University of Pennsylvania; George F. “Jody” Harpster, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and Cheryl J. Norton, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Cheyney and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania are being led by interim presidents, who usually serve until a permanent president is hired and are not eligible to be considered for an extension. Two presidents, Geraldine Jones at California University of Pennsylvania, and H. Fred Walker at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, were appointed earlier this year and also were not considered for contract extensions. Both of their contracts already run through June 30, 2019.