Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) touted a “Blueprint for Higher Education” as part of his recent budget unveiling. The aspirational document calls for capping some students’ tuition at $1,000 per semester (down from the current $3,850) and consolidating the management of the state’s ten universities and fifteen community colleges.
Currently, Pennsylvania taxpayers support higher education with about $2 billion in subsidies annually. Much of that aid goes directly to the institutions, not to students. By contrast, higher education aid from the federal government is mostly directed by students, in the form of Pell grants and subsidized loans. Shapiro’s proposal calls for more funding of the Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) in an effort to cap tuition at $1,000 per semester for a student from a family at the state median income (approximately $70,000).
While Pennsylvania’s state system of higher education (PASSHE) is just completing a “System Redesign,” Shapiro says his proposal will “build upon PASSHE’s work and expand higher education access across the Commonwealth.” However, details on what will change are scarce. Instead, the Governor offers aspirational goals such as, “Reduce redundancy and expand coordination to most effectively utilize public higher education dollars.” Additionally, an FAQ explains that the Governor will not be seeking to trim union contracts for any state employees nor reduce the layers of governance at community colleges.
Republicans have criticized the overall cost of the subsidies to the system as well as the vague process by which the Shapiro Administration seeks to redesign the PASSHE system.
