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Penn State approves tuition increase as university continues campus consolidation

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Penn State’s Board of Trustees has approved tuition and fee increases for most students for the 2027-28 academic year while continuing efforts to address financial pressures that have also led to the planned closure of seven Commonwealth campuses.

Approved Friday, the new budget raises tuition 2.5% for Pennsylvania undergraduate students at the University Park campus. Out-of-state undergraduates at University Park will pay 4% more, while out-of-state students attending Commonwealth campuses will see a 1% increase.

For the fifth consecutive year, tuition will remain frozen for in-state undergraduate students attending Penn State’s Commonwealth campuses.

University officials said the tuition increases are intended to offset approximately $70 million in annual cost increases, including faculty and staff merit raises and about $20 million in higher health care expenses.

The financial challenges come as Penn State moves forward with plans announced last year to close seven Commonwealth campuses — DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York — at the conclusion of the 2026-27 academic year.

The closures followed a review of 12 of the university’s 20 Commonwealth campuses ordered by President Neeli Bendapudi in early 2025. Five campuses — Allegheny, Beaver, Hazleton, Schuylkill and Scranton — were ultimately recommended to remain open.

A report presented to trustees cited declining enrollment, ongoing financial losses and significant deferred maintenance needs as the primary reasons for recommending the closures.

During Friday’s meeting, trustees also unanimously approved a $210,000 performance bonus for Bendapudi, equal to 15% of her $1.4 million base salary. Trustees said the award recognized her leadership and stability during the 2025-26 academic year.

Bendapudi’s total compensation reached approximately $2.8 million in 2025, placing her among the nation’s highest-paid public university presidents.

The tuition increase marks the seventh consecutive year Penn State has raised tuition somewhere within its statewide system, although Pennsylvania students attending the remaining Commonwealth campuses continue to benefit from the tuition freeze.

Source: Centre Daily Times

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