Penn College

Penn College board approves budget, tuition/fees for 2009-10

Pennsylvania College of Technology's Board of Directors has approved a $92.13 million operating budget and a 4.79 percent increase in tuition for in-state students in 2009-10.

The $92.13 million operating budget increased by 0.44 percent from 2008-09. It includes a 6 percent decrease ($786,000) in Penn College's state appropriation. Under the governor's state budget proposal, the college will receive an appropriation of $12.3 million, which represents 13.37 percent of its operating costs.

Penn College is a special-mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University and the amount approved by the state legislature and the governor is appropriated to the college through a line item in the Penn State budget. Penn College receives no direct funding from Penn State, and the college establishes its own rates for tuition and fees, which constitute the bulk of its revenues.

The Legislature has not yet passed a budget for 2009-10. Under a previous action taken by the Penn College board, the college will continue operating at 2008-09 budget levels until a 2009-10 state budget has been passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.

In 2009-10, a full-time, in-state student taking an average of 15 credits per semester at Penn College will pay approximately $12,480 in tuition and fees, an increase of $690 from 2008-09.

Annual costs for Penn College students are based upon per-credit-hour fees; the number of credits for which a student is registered determines the actual cost. For an in-state student, per-credit-hour tuition and fees will increase $23 (to $416 per credit hour) in 2009-10.

For out-of-state students, who pay 1.3 times the in-state tuition rate, per-credit-hour tuition and fees will increase $27 (to $521 per credit hour) in 2009-10. Tuition and fees for a nonresident Penn College student enrolled for a typical 15-credit load over two semesters will be $15,630 in 2009-10.

Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour said the budgeting process resulted in a reduction of $885,000 in personnel costs through attrition/retirements and the sharing of administrative positions. This, she explained, allowed the college to avoid layoffs during challenging economic times.

“The fundamental principle guiding us in every budgeting process is keeping tuition and fees as low as possible for students and their families while continuing to deliver the same quality of instruction and service to students,” Gilmour said. “Everyone has worked hard to build a lean, conservative budget with the primary goal of maintaining a first-rate, hands-on education that boosts students’ prospects for success in the workplace. This is a responsible plan that allows us to continue responding to emerging curriculum needs and unexpected opportunities as they arise in the coming year.”

Tuition accounts for $16 of the $23 per-credit-hour increase for in-state students. Additionally, the capital fee will increase by $2 (to $41 per credit hour). The activity fee will increase $1 (to $6 per credit hour). A new health service fee will be assessed at $4 per credit hour. All students have access to on-campus care; the fee will allow Student Health Services to eliminate markups on prescription medications and to support health and safety initiatives on campus. There will be no increase in the technology fee, which is $15 per credit hour.

The laboratory instruction fee will increase by $1 (to $32 per lab hour).

To assist with their education costs, more than three-quarters of all Penn College students receive financial aid. For 2007-08 (the last year for which official figures are available), Penn College students received aid totaling $76.6 million from a variety of federal, state and local sources.

The college’s auxiliary fund budgets for 2009-10 total $23.7 million. They are: Housing, $7.3 million; the college store, $5.29 million; Food Services, $7.5 million; the Industrial Modernization Center, $1.43 million; Student Activities, $1.36 million; Workforce Development & Continuing Education, $562,244; and the Children’s Learning Center, $309,805.

Other unrestricted current fund budgets total $674,271. They are: parking permit fund, $372,000; gifts and donations, $200,000; scholarships, $92,271; and use of college resources, $10,000.

The restricted current fund budget for grants, contracts and restricted donations for which outside parties (such as governmental agencies) direct the use of the money totals $22.31 million for 2009-10.

The plant fund budget for physical facilities totals $971,341, including the $70,000 renewal and replacement fund and the $901,341 debt service fund (money received and expended for the college’s bond obligations).

Overall, the college is budgeting $116.58 million for operating costs, auxiliary operations and other unrestricted funds -- a 1.42 percent increase. The total budget for 2009-10, which includes the restricted and plant funds, is $139.87 million.

The budget includes a $100,000 gift to the city of Williamsport and a $35,000 gift to the Williamsport Area School District. Both voluntary contributions are re-examined on an annual basis.

For more information about Penn College, call (800) 367-9222 or e-mail the Admissions Office.

Last Updated June 29, 2010

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