Penn College Establishes Budget, Tuition/Fees for 2010-11

The Pennsylvania College of Technology Board of Directors on Thursday approved a $102.2 million operating budget and a total college budget of $144.4 million for 2010-11. The approved budget calls for a 4.81-percent increase in tuition and fees for Pennsylvania residents enrolled at the college.

The budget reflects no increase in state funding. The college's state appropriation is budgeted at $13.6 million, which is equal to the amount received for 2009-10 and represents 9.4 percent of the total college budget. Federal stimulus funds totaling $676,000 also are anticipated.

Penn College is a special-mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University; the amount approved by the state Legislature and the governor is appropriated to the college through a line item in Penn State's 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 2010-11. The Penn College Board has authorized that the college continue operating at 2009-10 budget levels until a 2010-11 state budget is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor.

Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour said the guiding principle in drafting the budget, as always, is "the desire to keep tuition at a reasonable level." She added that budgeting is an ongoing process.

"Our initiative-based planning required each new dollar to be tied to an initiative or it was cut from the budget," the president said. "We need to continue to do things smarter, more cost-effective, and to be certain our work and programs are appropriate. This budget continues to be a work in progress for the entire year."

The $102,193,000 operating budget represents an increase of 5.68 percent from 2009-10. Staffing to support the Stage X Building Program, which includes a new residence hall and additional dining unit for students, accounts for most of the increase. The expansion will benefit not only students, but employment in the local community.

The college's auxiliary fund budgets for 2010-11 total $25,768,000. The 15-percent increase in these budgets reflects the opening of the new residence hall (Dauphin Hall) and dining unit (the Capitol Eatery) to meet students' needs. Both are situated within the newly named Rose Street Commons housing complex at the west end of the main campus.

The restricted current fund budget for grants, contracts and restricted donations for which outside entities (such as governmental agencies) direct the use of the money totals $16.3 million. This is a decrease of 27.2 percent from 2009-10 due to reductions in the WEDnetPA job-training program, a state initiative that the college administers.

Overall, the college is budgeting $144,379,000 for 2010-11, a 1.39-percent increase from 2009-10.

In 2010-11, a full-time, in-state student enrolled for an average of 15 credits per semester at Penn College will pay $13,080 in tuition and fees − an increase of $600 from 2009-10.

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, tuition and fees in 2010-11 will be $436 per credit hour, an increase of $20 from 2009-10.

Tuition accounts for $18 of the $20 per-credit-hour increase for in-state students. Additionally, the capital fee will increase by $2 to $43 per credit hour. There are no other increases in credit hour fees. A laboratory instruction fee will increase by $2 to $34 per lab hour.

For out-of-state students, who pay 1.3 times the in-state tuition rate, tuition and fees in 2010-11 will be $546 per credit hour, up $25 from 2009-10. Tuition and fees for a nonresident Penn College student enrolled for a typical 15-credit load over two semesters will be $16,380 in 2010-11.

More than three-quarters of all Penn College students receive financial aid to assist with their education costs. For 2008-09 (the last year for which official figures are available), Penn College students received aid totaling $83.8 million from a variety of federal, state and local sources.

The college's board of directors also approved the inclusion in the budget of 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, visit online , e-mail or call toll-free 800-367-9222.