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Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro has outlined a 15 percent budget increase for the state’s public university system and community colleges as part of his larger budget proposal for 2024–25.
Shapiro provided the budget details on Feb. 6, just over a week after he announced a sweeping overhaul of the state’s higher education system, which would combine 10 of the state’s public universities and all its two-year colleges under one governing authority.
Funding for the colleges under the new structure would amount to $975 million—up from $850 million the previous year. The governor also proposed a 5 percent increase in financial support for state-related universities—Penn State, Temple, Lincoln and Pitt—that are not included in the restructuring.
“Governor Shapiro’s budget proposal continues to get stuff done for Pennsylvanians by investing in economic development and higher education … and creating opportunity all across our Commonwealth,” the administration said in a press release about the budget.
Cynthia Shapira, chair of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors, said Shapiro’s budget would allow the system to maintain a tuition freeze for the seventh consecutive year, which would be “a rare accomplishment” in higher education.
State lawmakers will now review and consider the governor’s budget plan. They must vote on it by June 30.
