HARRISBURG, Pa. — Penn State University needs to do more to address its “skyrocketing” tuition rates and spiking enrollment of out-of-state and international students, compared to in-state student enrollment, the state’s elected fiscal watchdog said in a report Thursday.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said tuition at the massive university system has jumped by more than 500 percent over the past three decades, driven in part by an ambitious building boom and falling state government subsidies.
“The skyrocketing tuition is making school increasingly unaffordable,” said DePasquale, a Democrat. In-state tuition is approaching $20,000 and is among the nation’s highest for public universities.
He said construction that has transformed the university is one reason tuition is so high, but he also noted that financial support from the state has fallen, and argued operating 23 branch campuses may be too many.
Penn State said it has been working to reduce costs and find new revenues – and insisted there is no bias against in-state students.
In its response to the audit, the university said in the past four years it has focused on the cost of tuition. It’s been trying to increase retention and graduation, lower the cost of a degree and the time it takes to get one, decrease student borrowing and avoid having students leave because of financial problems.
The study also found background clearances were missing for some of the adults who work at youth camps on campus, for everything from arts and music to sports and academic pursuits.
