State system universities request 5.5% funding increase for 2027-28
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) board of governors unanimously approved a request for a 5.5% increase in state funding for the 2027-28 fiscal year to support a tuition freeze at its member universities during a meeting Thursday, Oct.8.
The state universities have asked for a state funding increase for several years now following multiple years of state funds remaining unchanged.
Slippery Rock University is one of 10 university systems that make up PASSHE.
PASSHE schools received a combined $625.7 million from Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 budget.
In early 2026, SRU President Karen Riley was one of multiple college presidents that pushed for state funding increases. She spent time in Harrisburg testifying before the House Appropriations Committee, sharing with legislators the impact their schools have and lobbying against flat-funding.
At the time, college leaders pointed to programs that would benefit from new funding, such as workforce training programs, efforts to reduce barriers for undeserved potential students, nursing, EMS training and other areas with a larger-than-average societal and economic impact.
Riley and Megan Coval, president of Butler County Community College, also pointed to inflationary costs as a reason to request more funding.
The funding increase request comes at time when universities are considering how to combat an impending enrollment cliff: a projected decline in graduating high schoolers and potential college students due to changing demographics.
While systemwide enrollment is stable this year, Pennsylvania is projected to have 10% fewer high school graduates by 2040, with larger declines in some regions, according to a PASSHE estimate.
System officials believe a state appropriation increase would help it strengthen financial sustainability and “will help PASSHE respond to demographic shifts by aligning resources with student demand as the traditional college-age population declines.”
“Those trends create financial challenges for our universities and make it harder to educate enough graduates for Pennsylvania employers,” said Christopher Fiorentino, chancellor of PASSHE. “This is the moment for PASSHE to challenge assumptions, ask hard questions of ourselves and make decisions that keep PASSHE financially stable in the years ahead, able to provide students with the education they deserve while preparing the talent Pennsylvania needs.”
