Penn College

Board approves 2019-20 Penn College budget, tuition, fees

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Pennsylvania College of Technology Board of Directors today (June 13) approved a 2019-20 budget of $157.3 million, which represents a $7.1 million (4.3%) decrease in spending from 2018-19.

The budget includes a 2.95% tuition increase for Pennsylvania residents, marking five consecutive years of increases held below 3%. When tuition and fees are combined, the increase is lower: 2.51%.

The budget includes a state appropriation of $23.2 million, reflecting a $500,000 (2.2%) increase. The actual amount of the funding won’t be known until the state budget is passed and signed into law by the governor. The appropriation accounts for 14.8% of the college’s total budget and 20.2% of its operating budget. Enrollment for 2019-20 is budgeted conservatively for a 2% decrease.

“Despite a number of challenges, the budget holds the college’s tuition increase to below 3% for the fifth straight year,” said President Davie Jane Gilmour. “Shifting population demographics and a smaller pool of high school graduates — due to declining birth rates in Pennsylvania, the Northeast U.S. and beyond — have impacted enrollment at most colleges and universities the past few years. We are no exception. But we continually assess programming and staffing to meet these challenges and to make applied technology education — and its promise of rewarding, lifelong employment — as affordable as possible for students and their families.”

Rates for tuition and fees represent the bulk of Penn College’s budget revenues. A student’s annual costs are based on per-credit-hour fees. The number of credits for which a Penn College student is registered determines his or her actual cost.

Pennsylvania residents account for 90.1% of the college’s total enrollment of 5,319. Military veterans and students enrolled in Penn College’s online degree programs all pay the in-state tuition rate.

The in-state rate for tuition and fees in 2019-20 will be $572 per credit hour, an increase of $14 per credit. A full-time, in-state student enrolled for the typical two 15-credit semesters in 2019-20 will pay $17,160 in tuition and fees, an increase of $420 over 2018-19.

Tuition and fees for out-of-state students will increase $21 per credit — to $817 per credit hour — in 2019-20. A full-time nonresident student enrolled for two 15-credit semesters will pay a total of $24,510 in tuition and fees, an increase of $630 over 2018-19.

Residence Life increases for student housing will be 1.5% for all apartment/room configurations in 2019-20; board plans offered by Dining Services will also rise by 1.5%.

To assist Penn College students with their college costs, a total of $97.9 million in financial aid from a variety of federal, state and local sources was awarded to 87.7% of enrollees in the most recent year (2017-18) for which data is available.

Budgets for the Dunham Children’s Learning Center, Dining Services, The College Store, Residence Life and Workforce Development projects total $29.9 million. The restricted current fund budget — which includes grants, contracts and restricted donations for which outside entities (such as governmental agencies) direct the use of the money — is $12.4 million.

Retirements and departmental restructurings resulted in a net decrease of 16 full-time positions in the 2019-20 budget.

The budget includes a 1.65% salary increment for faculty, called for by the collective bargaining agreement with the Penn College Education Association. Increments for other full-time employees are included in the budget at 1.65%, with distribution contingent upon fall 2019 enrollment.

Also in the budget are voluntary gifts of $100,000 to the City of Williamsport and $35,000 to the Williamsport Area School District. These are reevaluated annually.

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call 800-367-9222.

Last Updated June 13, 2019