Comparison of Family Income of New Penn State Freshmen with All Pennsylvania Families Less Than $6,000 '■* „Pa, Families n 72 73 74 $lO,OOO to $15,000 71 72 73 74 y Income Levels; than $6,000 Penn State Freshmen Pennsylvania Families I to 9,999 Penn State Freshmen Pennsylvania Families •0 to 14,999 Tenn State Freshmen Pennsylvania Families 0 and Over Penn State Freshmen Pennsylvania Families rn involving tuition in my presentation to the budget hearings in both the ,e has focused on the effect of tuition increases on the composition of our l State. We still have a full enrollment and indeed have applications from re can accommodate next year in the total University. But in the last few i a significant decline in the number of students from lower middle income iy reference to the accompanying charts, which I hope you will look at shows that in 1970, 31 percent of all Pennsylvania.families had a family i $6,000 to $lO,OOO. In that same Fall, 34 percent of the new Freshmen same from families in that income category. Because of rapid inflation, only ylvania families were in the $6,000 to $lO,OOO income category by 1974. wever, only 13 percent of the Freshmen admitted to Penn State were from y, a severe decline in four years. This clearly shows that lower middle 8 been losing access to Penn State in recent years. jdget hearings I also pointed out that while costs to educate students have proportionate support of those costs has not kept pace. At Penn State we' | highest tuition rates of any land-grant university in the nation. Although amount of our legislative appropriation has gone up, the amount of real PSU Freshmen PSU Freshmen Pa. Families 70 71 72 73 74 70 71 72 73 74 dollar support per student has decreased. Each year the increase in appropriation has been used primarily for increases in fixed costs. This has put a heavy burden on tuition and its important contribution to our total educational program cost. Let me, however, put the matter of tuition in another context. In all fairness to a complete understanding of the tuition matter, every student may not realize that Pennsylvania has one of the most helpful educational assistance programs in the country. At this time at Penn State 16,353 of our students are receiving about $9.7 million in direct (PHEA) state grants, in addition to the Federal Basic Educational Opportunity Grants. This PHEA aid averages for the student recipient about $6OO apiece which can be applied toward tuition. Here is where we are at the moment. We have urgent need for $lO million more than the amount recommended in the Governor’s budget. I have stated that this circumstance is bound to have an effect on our educational programs, on the salary increments for employees who just like students and their families are faced with inflationary costs, and some impact on tuition. What we must now do is to attempt to balance all of these forces in such a way that we maintain the quality of Penn State’s educational programs within the fiscal realities, and at the same time maintain as a high priority the holding of any increase in tuition to a minimum. Simultaneously, we must do all we can to convince those in the General Assembly to increase if at all possible Penn State's proposed appropriation. The Highacres Collegian, Mar. 31* 1976 $6,000 to $9,999 Over $15,000 * Pa. Families * PSU Freshmen PSU Freshmen Pa. Families
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