UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning today (Nov. 19) recommended for approval a 2016-17 budget plan that includes a request to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to increase the University’s Education and General appropriation by $39.5 million and a total appropriation of $353.3 million.
If the board approves the plan and the Commonwealth provides the requested funds, the University’s 2016-17 Education and General appropriation would be fully restored to its 2010-11 level of $264.3 million.
“Penn State’s budget plan and appropriation request echoes Gov. Wolf’s stated goal for the Commonwealth to restore the 2011-12 cut in higher education support, and it reflects optimism that full restoration will be included in the 2016-17 budget year,” said Penn State President Eric Barron. “Penn State froze base tuition for Pennsylvania undergraduates students for the current academic year of 2015-16. The Commonwealth’s role in providing affordable access to an education at Pennsylvania’s land-grant university has never been more important.”
If the University’s 2016-17 budget plan and appropriation request is approved, base tuition for Pennsylvania resident undergraduate students would remain frozen for the second consecutive year.
Barron said the restoration of funds would allow the University to grant modest faculty and staff salary increases to maintain competitiveness; restart facilities projects; and fund strategic initiatives, innovation and student aid.
Penn State’s 2016-17 budget plan and appropriation request also assumes that the Commonwealth’s finalized 2015-16 Education and General appropriation will be $224.8 million, a 5 percent increase over 2014-15. The Commonwealth started the 2015-16 fiscal year July 1 without a budget and has yet to complete its budget package.
In addition to the $39.5 million Penn State is requesting for its Education and General appropriation for 2016-17, the University is seeking a $9 million increase for programs in agricultural research and cooperative extension, which would return state support to 2010-11 levels at $55.2 million.
The University is also requesting a $3 million increase to a total of $20.6 million for the Pennsylvania College of Technology to continue building on state investment to expand instructional capacity in technical fields, as well as an additional $1.7 million in state and federal medical assistance funding for the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for a total of $13.1 million.