The State System of Higher Education has frozen in-state tuition at Slippery Rock University and the 13 other state-owned universities it operates for the third year in a row.

Slippery Rock University President William Behre said a tuition freeze for the 2021-22 school year will benefit students and parents who are struggling to financially recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board of governors for Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, which operates Slippery Rock and the 13 other state-owned universities, on Thursday approved a freeze of basic in-state tuition for a third consecutive year in a commitment to keep education costs affordable during the ongoing pandemic.

The board's unanimous vote keeps in-state tuition for undergraduate students at $7,716. Also remaining the same will be the student technology fee of $478.

Fall semester classes at Slippery Rock University begin Aug. 23 with in-person classes in socially distant classrooms and capacity limits in dormitory rooms.

This is a breaking news report — read the full article in Sunday's Butler Eagle.