Penn College Board Approves Budget, Tuition/Fees for 2006-07

Pennsylvania College of Technology's Board of Directors has approved an operating budget of $84,167,560 and established tuition and fee rates for the 2006-07 academic year.

The operating budget represents a 2.52-percent decrease from 2005-06.

Tuition for Pennsylvania residents will increase by $15 per credit hour to $301 per credit hour. Tuition plus fees for in-state students will rise by $18 per credit hour to $354 per credit hour (an increase of $540 per year for a full-time student taking a typical 15-credit course load over both the fall and spring semesters).

Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour said Thursday that the college administration was confronted with rising costs on many fronts health insurance, as well as gas, electric and other utilities in drafting the budget. Expenses associated with the opening of the Roger and Peggy Madigan Library later this year will also have a significant impact, she noted. The administration worked with President's Council and their cost center administrators to pare $4.8 million from budget requests.

"We worked very hard to keep our tuition increase as low as possible," Gilmour said. "We are very pleased to be able to accommodate all of these challenges and still only have a 5.2-percent tuition increase. Most important, we have addressed our greatest concern keeping pace with technology and equipment changes, so as not to compromise instruction. Ultimately, that is what makes Penn College graduates so employable: the hands-on, real-world experience they receive in our industry-standard labs and classrooms."

The 2006-07 budget includes a state appropriation of $12,659,000 a 4.5-percent increase over 2005-06.

The college budgeted for a 4-percent increase in its appropriation, and the additional half of a percent ($60,000) will be earmarked for instructional equipment, Gilmour said.

Gilmour thanked state Rep. Brett O. Feese and state Sen. Roger A. Madigan both members of the Penn College Board of Directors for their efforts to secure funding for the college in the $26.1 billion state budget, which was approved July 2.

As a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University, Penn College makes its appropriation request to state government. Whatever amount is approved by the Legislature and the governor is appropriated to the college through a line item in Penn State's budget. As a separate corporate entity, Penn College receives no direct funding from Penn State. The college establishes its own rates for tuition and fees, which constitute the bulk of its revenues.

Tuition and fees for an in-state student carrying a typical 15-credit load over two semesters will be $10,620 in 2006-07. Tuition for out-of-state students, who pay 1.3 times the in-state rate, will increase by $20 per credit hour (to $392 per credit hour). Tuition and fees assessed on a per-credit-hour basis will rise by $23 (to $445 per credit hour). Tuition and fees for a nonresident carrying a typical 15-credit load over two semesters will be $13,350 in 2006-07.

Fee increases include: capital fee, $2 (to $34 per credit hour); laboratory instruction fee, $2 (to $26 per lab hour); and the technology fee, $1 (to $14 per credit hour). There will be no increase in the activity fee, which is $5 per credit hour.

Nearly three-quarters of all Penn College students receive financial aid to assist with their education costs. In 2004-05 (the last year for which official figures are available), Penn College students received aid totaling $60.8 million from a variety of federal, state and local sources.

The 2006-07 budget projects that the Fall 2006 enrollment will grow by 1.5 percent over the Fall 2005 total of 6,537.

The operating budget includes six new faculty positions, three new professional and technical positions, one new classified position, and 5 1/2new service positions. The budget includes a 4.5-percent salary increase for eligible employees.

Revenue-generating auxiliary fund budgets for 2006-07 total $17,833,454. The budgets are: Food Services, $4,233,000; the Children?s Learning Center, $414,568; The College Store, $5,209,600; Workforce Development & Continuing Education, $439,375; Student Activities, $1,190,620; and Housing, $6,346,291.

Other unrestricted current fund budgets (distinct from the operating and auxiliary budgets) total $756,500. They are: unrestricted scholarships, $181,500; gifts and donations, $200,000; use of college resources, $25,000; and the parking permit fund, $350,000.

The restricted current fund budget which accounts for grants, contracts and restricted donations for which outside parties, such as governmental agencies, direct the use of the money totals $26,101,688, a decrease of $112,184 (.4 percent) from 2005-06.

The plant fund budget, which accounts for the college's physical facilities, totals $9,349,793. This includes the renewal and replacement fund, $119,900; and the debt service fund, $9,229,893. The renewal and replacement fund is designated for the upgrading and replacement of capital items. The debt service fund accounts for money received and expended for the college's bond obligations.

Overall, the college's unrestricted current funds budget which includes the $84.2 million operating budget plus separate budgets for auxiliary operations, unrestricted scholarships, gifts and donations, use of college resources, and parking permits is $102,757,514, a decrease of $1,234,333 (1.19 percent) from 2005-06.