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.

“With the added financial pressures that many people are facing as a result of the pandemic, the tuition freeze helps to provide stability and certainty for our students and their families as they plan for the coming academic year,” Behre said.

SSHE Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the board's vote marks the first time in State System history that basic in-state tuition has remained unchanged for three consecutive years.

“Sixty percent of jobs in Pennsylvania require a post-secondary degree, but only 47 percent of Pennsylvanians have one. To help Pennsylvania build a modern-day economy, to remain a reliable pathway for students into and beyond the middle class, to ensure every Pennsylvanian who wants can access quality higher education, we must take bold action like (Thursday's) vote on tuition.” Greenstein said.

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

To accommodate the 80 percent of classes being held in-person, the university is increasing the number of rooms on campus that can safely host classes and adjusting learning spaces for social distancing.

Transparent plastic panels will be installed to separate students in labs and other classrooms where students can't be separated. Meeting rooms and even the ballroom could be used as classroom space if needed, according to the university.