Slippery Rock University will not raise its tuition for the 2023-24 academic year.
“At Slippery Rock University,” President William Behre said, “our students receive a strong education that prepares them for life after college without having to pay the high prices necessary at some of the larger universities or private colleges.”
In previous years, tuition has gone up almost 2-3% more than it is currently. The current in state tuition is $3,858. Another increase of 3% could mean students would be paying $115.74 more for their tuition.
A lack of tuition increase could mean that a lot of the other things students pay for could also go up like housing, technology fee, etc.
“First, allow me to explain the process,” Behre said. “Neither the University administration nor the Council of Trustees has the power to raise tuition – they can only make recommendations.”
“The administration starts by making a recommendation to the Council. If the Council approves that recommendation, then it is forwarded to the State System Board of Governors in Harrisburg.
“The Board of Governors then makes the final decision on all tuition and some fees. The Council of Trustees decides on other fees based on recommendations from the administration.
“This year, we are not recommending a tuition increase,” Behre said. “We made this decision because the governor and the state legislature’s recently approved budget substantially increased the state appropriation to PASSHE. As a result, the University’s base budget increased by $9.7 million.
“We always strive to keep costs for students as low as possible. This allocation increase from the commonwealth will allow us to go another year without a tuition increase. This gave us the ability to meet our costs in the near term without raising tuition,” he said.
SRU has not increased its tuition for four years.
Student enrollment for Fall 2022 for freshmen was up 7.51%. Whereas it was -7.37% in the Fall of 2021. SRU’s enrollment increased this year, indicating we receive a higher budget to not have to raise tuition.
This decision will have nothing to do with the scholarships and they will remain the same as long as our donors continue to contribute to the school.
“Cost is one of many factors students consider when deciding on a college,” Behre said, “so keeping costs down helps, but by far not the only factor. Our students in particular chose SRU not just because of cost, but because of our academic programs, our expert faculty, our beautiful campus, our history of career preparation, and/or one of our many athletic teams.
“Had a modest tuition increase been necessary, I don’t think enrollments would have been impacted all that much,” he said.
Fees for technology, housing, etc. are still being calculated at the moment. While Behre doesn’t see there is an increase, he also isn’t sure there won’t be, either. Costs are still being calculated, and there will be updates on tuition and fees.
