Pitt undecided about tuition costs next year

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

So, if a 3 percent appropriation increase from Harrisburg would be enough for Penn State University’s president to recommend a tuition freeze for in-state students this fall, what about the University of Pittsburgh?

Might some of Pitt’s 35,000 students get the same relief if the Legislature and governor produce a rare on-time Commonwealth budget that ups Pitt’s support by a comparable amount?

The short answer: It’s too early to speculate, Pitt spokesman Joseph Miksch says.

Asked about a budget deal taking shape in Harrisburg this week that would provide about $17 million more collectively to the four state-related universities — Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — Mr. Miksch called it “a strong and laudable step” toward tuition affordability in the state.

He said “timely completion of the state appropriation process will enable us to work with our Board of Trustees to finalize our budget for the 2018-19 academic year. Until this process is completed, however, it is premature to speculate on specific tuition levels.”

Pitt and Penn State already are among the priciest public universities in the nation, charging Pennsylvanians a yearly main campus tuition of $18,130 and $17,416, respectively, for the 2017-18 academic year. Both have long described as the major culprit eroding state support, sometimes delivered some