Editor's note: Penn State's Board of Trustees approved the 2023-24 room and board rates, as outlined below, during its meeting on Feb. 17.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The room and board rate at Penn State’s University Park campus — based on a standard double room and the mid-level meal plan — would increase by $224 per semester, or 3.56%, for the 2023-24 academic year under a plan approved today (Feb. 16) by the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning.
The proposed rates will next go to the full Board of Trustees for final consideration on Feb. 17.
The plan also calls for a total 2.15% increase in room and board rates at Penn State’s Abington, Altoona, Beaver, Berks, Brandywine and Harrisburg campuses, and a 1.41% increase in room and board rates at the Behrend, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto and Schuylkill campuses. The aggregate room and board rate increase at the Commonwealth Campuses is proposed to be 1.78%.
Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for Finance and Business/treasurer, indicated that high inflation, particularly for food and utilities, was a primary contributor to this year’s proposed rate increases, in addition to new debt on renovated residence halls. The proposed rates include projected cost increases for employee salaries and benefits, facility maintenance and renewal, and the operation of the Residence Life program.
At University Park, the cost of a standard double room, which makes up the largest percentage of the University’s room inventory, would increase by $120 per semester, or 3.25%, to $3,807. The cost of the mid-level meal plan, the most popular option, would rise by $104 per semester, or 4%, to $2,708, bringing the total per-semester room and board rate at University Park to $6,515 for the 2023-24 academic year.
At the Abington, Altoona, Beaver, Berks, Brandywine and Harrisburg campuses, rates for all residence hall rooms and apartments would increase by 2.25%, while all room and apartment rates at the Behrend, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto and Schuylkill campuses would rise by 1%. At all Commonwealth Campuses with residential dining, the proposed cost of the mid-level meal plan would rise by $52 per semester, or 2%, to $2,656 for the 2023-24 academic year.
Housing rates specific to each campus and various room types for 2023-24 will be available here soon after the board’s vote on Feb. 17. Graduate apartment rates at University Park for 2023-24 can be found here.
Even with this year’s increase, Thorndike noted that Penn State’s room and board rates are anticipated to remain below the Big Ten average.
“We always strive to provide our residential students with housing and food rates that are as low as possible, in line with the University’s overall commitment to access and affordability,” Thorndike said. “We have worked hard to find efficiencies and reduce costs to hold our room and board rates below the rate of inflation, while continuing to provide our students with the highest quality on-campus living and dining experience.”
Thorndike said that the lower rate increases at the Commonwealth Campuses reflect the demographic circumstances of local regions and the resource needs of students, in line with the differentiated tuition structure that is already in place for the campuses. The differentiated rates would enable Penn State to remain competitive in local housing markets, helping to boost on-campus housing occupancy and provide students with a high-quality, convenient and cost-effective option for housing and food.
As part of its commitment to keeping costs low, particularly for the neediest students, Thorndike provided an update on Housing and Food Services’ LiveOn Student Success Grant program, which is now available at all of Penn State’s residential campuses. Supported by Housing and Food Services, the program provides a need-based housing and meal plan award to eligible students to cover approximately 25% of their room and board expenses for the year, with an average award of $3,000. The grant can be renewed annually for four years, providing total savings of approximately $12,000 — equal to roughly one free year of room and board.
Entering its third year, Thorndike said that Housing and Food Services is projecting that LiveOn grants will be awarded to 680 students for the 2023-24 fiscal year, up from 228 and 505 student awards in the first and second years of the program, respectively.
Thorndike also updated the committee on the status of Housing and Food Services’ residential capital renewal plans at University Park. She said that Bigler, Curtin and Packer halls are scheduled to go back online for the fall 2023 semester after undergoing renovations, and the final phase of the East Halls renovation project, involving Hastings, Snyder and Stone halls, will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2024. The Pollock Halls capital renewal project is on track to begin in fiscal year 2024-25, when Ritner and Wolf halls are scheduled to undergo renovations. All renovations in the Pollock Housing Area are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2029.
Penn State Housing and Food Services is a self-supporting auxiliary unit. Housing and food revenues must cover all operating expenses, debt, interest, and major maintenance and facility renewal costs. Neither state funds nor tuition are used for the construction, maintenance or operations of the housing and dining program. Housing and Food Services operates residence halls at 12 Penn State campuses across the commonwealth, serving residential students at the University’s Abington, Altoona, Beaver, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Greater Allegheny, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Mont Alto, Schuylkill and University Park campuses.