How the state's investment in Penn State pays dividends for Pennsylvania

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s investment in Penn State has a significant positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of students in communities across the commonwealth, as it provides them with access to a world-class education at a significantly reduced cost.

Penn State’s in-state tuition rate, which is made possible because of the state’s general support appropriation to the University, plays an integral role in encouraging the state’s best and brightest students to remain in Pennsylvania for college. It also helps Penn State to remain innovative and on the leading edge of the latest career trends, providing students with access to the highest-quality facilities and faculty and to impactful and highly sought-after degree programs that set them on a path for career success.

“A state appropriation is critical to Penn State’s ability to innovate, to recruit and retain top faculty and staff, and to attract the type of students that will be able to help Pennsylvania thrive after graduation,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron.

Penn State educates more Pennsylvania students than any single institution in the state, and with more than 380,000 Penn State alumni living in Pennsylvania, the University educates and trains the state’s future workforce like no other entity in the commonwealth. Each year, approximately 20,000 new Penn State graduates enter the workforce, and most of these students choose to live and work in Pennsylvania after graduation. More than half of all Penn State alumni live in Pennsylvania, and 1 in 12 Pennsylvanians with a college degree earned it from Penn State. It also is noteworthy that nearly 20% of Penn State’s out-of-state and international students choose to remain in Pennsylvania after completing their degrees.

“For decades, Penn State has served as a ticket to upward mobility for thousands of Pennsylvanians, providing an affordable and close-to-home option for earning a degree from a top 25 public research university,” Barron said. “Our students are in demand by employers — in a 2019 survey, corporate recruiters ranked universities based on which best trained, educated and prepared graduates for success once hired, and Penn State tied with MIT for fifth in the nation. Our graduates earn good-paying jobs in in-demand career fields and become important contributors to Pennsylvania’s economy.”

If the state was to choose to not provide a direct appropriation to institutions like Penn State, as some lawmakers have suggested, Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones said Pennsylvania would likely lose many top students to out-of-state colleges and universities that already recruit heavily in the Keystone State.

“Without an in-state tuition rate, which makes Penn State significantly more affordable than Pennsylvania’s private research universities, the trend of colleges and universities in neighboring states aggressively recruiting Pennsylvania’s students would likely accelerate,” said Jones. “The result would be a loss of top students to other states and a decrease in in-state enrollment, hurting the state’s workforce and economic outlook in the long term.” 

A 2019 economic impact study found that Penn State contributes $11.6 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy and supports, both directly and indirectly, more than 105,000 jobs across the commonwealth. With 24 campuses, the University’s economic impact is felt in communities across the state. That same study also found that for every $1 in state appropriations received by the University, Penn State returns $1.24 in tax payments to the commonwealth — further highlighting the fact that Penn State is a good investment for Pennsylvania.

“Penn State is a critical asset to the commonwealth,” said Barron. “We tackle societal challenges, contribute to economic development and the state’s innovation economy through initiatives like Invent Penn State, and provide a world-class education that is accessible and affordable for Pennsylvania’s citizens.

“This work is all made possible because of our land-grant partnership with the commonwealth, and the state appropriation is the key to it all.”

Editor’s note: This is the last in a three-part series examining Penn State’s state funding.