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Good news for students at the Pennsylvania College of Technology -- no increase in tuition and educational fees for the next school year. The announcement was made following approval of the 2024-25 operating budget of $127 million by the college's Board of Directors this week.
The total budget is $189.5 million, a 2.83% increase over the 2023-24 budget. This includes revenue-generating auxiliary fund budgets such as Workforce Development, Residence Life, Dining Services, Dunham Children's Learning Center and The College Store, as well as the restricted current fund budget, which includes grants, contracts and restricted donations for which outside entities, such as governmental agencies, direct the use of funds.
The majority of revenue is from tuition and fees, representing just under 50 percent of the projected revenues for 2025.
These figures are consistent with prior years and what was expected, according to Jon Nichols, executive director of finance/controller at the college, who presented the budget for the board's consideration.
For the upcoming school year, tuition and fees combined will be $18,240 annually for a typical state resident student enrolled for two 15-credit semesters. For non-state resident students the total cost for the same credit load over two semesters will be $25,980 annually. Both reflect no change from the 2023-24 school year.
Penn College's state appropriation is budgeted at $31.5 million, based on Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed 2024-25 state budget, which calls for the college to receive a 5% increase. The projected appropriation accounts for 16.6% of the total budget and 24.8% of the operating budget. The deadline for the state to pass its 2024-25 budget is June 30, according to information from the college.
The biggest component of expenses at the college is from salaries and benefits, which increased slightly from the previous year, Nichols said.
To keep pace with inflation, student housing rates and dining services' meal plan rates will increase by 2 percent in 2024-25, Total student enrollment for the Fall 2024 semester is projected to increase by 150 students over Fall 2023's total of 4,307.
"All the data, things that we're hearing, the enrollment is trending in the right direction from everything that we're seeing," Nichols said.
He noted that 62 programs are wait listed for the fall semester.
In his comments to the board, Penn College President Michael Reed said that the college has received over 7,000 applications for the first time in their history. Over 1,000 transfer applications have also come in.
"Our on-campus housing is officially full as of last week," Reed said.
"We recently received our graduate placement data, and I'm pleased to report that our exceptional 96 percent placement rate has increased to 97.7 percent," Reed noted.
Referring to the budget, Reed said "the economic impact on students and their families is always at the forefront of senior administration's annual budget deliberation."
"We need to do all that we can to lessen the financial burden on our students and families, and I commend our leaders for holding tuition flat for another year," Reed said. "While it costs substantially more to deliver in"novative, hands-on education in high-demand career fields in comparison to traditional models, our approach is highly effective, as evidenced by a 97.7% overall graduate placement rate, significant enrollment growth, and exceptional return on investment when compared with other colleges and universities. Industry needs more highly skilled graduates, and we need to do all that we can to ensure that access," Reed said.
The budget also includes voluntary gifts of $100,000 to the City of Williamsport and $35,000 to the Williamsport Area School District. These gifts are reT-evaluated annually.