Penn State is poised to request a $30 million increase in state funding for its 2025-26 general support appropriation after the university’s board of trustees committee on finance and investment recommended the request Thursday.
The university’s total general support appropriation request will be $272.1 million if the full board approves the proposal Friday. The funding is used to offset the cost of tuition for in-state undergraduate students and supports Penn State’s academic mission.
The overall appropriate request is $391.5 million, which includes a request for additional funding for things like Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania College of Technology. In total, the university is requesting a $40 million increase.
General support funding has remained flat at $242.1 million since 2019-20, according to a release from the university.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi has previously advocated for an increase in funding to match the per-student funding of other public universities in Pennsylvania. In the release, she said Penn State’s funding per in-state tuition is below the national average and among the last of public universities in the state.
The requested appropriation would be in addition to any money Penn State is awarded through the state’s new performance-based funding model . That’s expected to be enacted for the 2025-26 funding cycle.
“This appropriation request, if approved and coupled with additional state support from a robust and fair performance-based funding system, will strengthen our work to keep a Penn State education accessible and affordable for all Pennsylvanians and prepare our students to fill critical needs in the state’s workforce,” Bendapudi said.
When divided equally among the in-state undergraduate students, Penn State’s current general support appropriation amounts to $5,789 per student. The release highlights what other state-related universities receive in state funding per student, including Temple, which receives about $10,809 in state funding per student, and the University of Pittsburgh receives $9,538 per student. Universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education receive $9,526 per student, the release states.
“To match the per-student funding levels of Pennsylvania’s other public universities, the commonwealth would need to appropriate to Penn State an additional $156 million in general support funding for 2025-26. Recognizing such an increase would be difficult to achieve in one year, Penn State is proposing a $30 million increase in its general support appropriation as an incremental step to close the funding gap,” the release states.
Last September, the university requested an increase of $120.1 million for its 2024-25 appropriation.
If the state legislature and governor approves the request, Penn State said it would use the additional funding for need-based student aid and other student success services to support access and affordability, to cover cost increases and deferred maintenance on education facilities, invest in academic programs and provide salary increases for faculty and staff.
Overall the university’s $391.5 million appropriation request includes:
$272.1 million for general support, an increase of $30 million over the 2024-25 funding
Agricultural Research and Penn State Extension: $61.7 million, an increase of $4 million over 2024-25 funding
Pennsylvania College of Technology: $39.3 million, an increase of $5.3 million over 2024-25 funding
Penn State Health and the College of Medicine: $16.1 million, an increase of $765,000 over 2024-25 funding
Invent Penn State: $2.35 million, representing level funding from 2024-25
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