What’s New
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania announced on Friday a “new blueprint for higher education” in the Keystone State. The plan would offer lower tuition to poor and middle-class students, create a “performance-based funding” system for public colleges, and consolidate community colleges and many, but not all, public colleges under the same governance structure.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Shapiro said the proposed overhaul of higher education is “grounded in access and affordability.”
The Details
The plan proposed by Shapiro, a Democrat, has three parts:
- First, it proposes to unite the state’s publicly owned universities, known as Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, or PASSHE, with the state’s 15 community colleges, under a new governance system. PASSHE’s leaders expressed support on Friday for the plan, and the governor’s office said the overhaul would preserve “local leadership while uniting both types of institutions behind the goal of educating Pennsylvania.”
- Second, Shapiro’s plan aims to make college more affordable. Under the new system, Pennsylvanians making up to the state’s median income would pay no more than $1,000 in tuition and fees per semester at state-owned universities and community colleges. (Pennsylvania’s median annual income is $73,170 per household and $41,234 per capita in 2022 dollars, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.) For students attending state-related universities — Lincoln, Pennsylvania State, and Temple Universities and the University of Pittsburgh — and independent colleges, the plan would increase, by $1,000, grants available through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. In addition, during his budget address on February 6, Shapiro plans to propose a “significant investment” in state support for higher education.
- Third, the governor wants to put in place a performance-based funding system in which appropriations to public colleges and universities would be distributed “on the basis of a predictable, transparent, outcomes-focused formula that will incentivize colleges and universities to focus on what’s most important” to the state. The new system would apply not only to state-owned colleges, but also to the four state-related institutions.
Neeli Bendapudi, president of Penn State, released a statement expressing support for the creation of a performance-based funding model.
“I have been a strong advocate for performance-based funding in higher education, not only to enhance transparency and accountability, but also to achieve meaningful outcomes for our students,” Bendapudi said.
The Backdrop
Pennsylvania’s state-owned higher-education system is suffering from shrinking enrollment and weak state funding. PASSHE merged six of its universities into two institutions in 2022.
The state’s higher-education landscape also suffers from unhealthy levels of internal competition for students. A Chronicle analysis in 2022 found that the state simply had “too many campuses.” About two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are home to at least one college.
Penn State, for example, has some 20 regional campuses scattered across the state that compete with other public colleges, community colleges, and private institutions for the same pool of students. Penn State recently said it was planning to cut nearly $100 million from its 2026 budget.
The intense competition has led to duplication, with nearby institutions offering essentially the same degree programs.
Shapiro’s plan, by placing more public colleges under the same leadership umbrella, could help Pennsylvania achieve more cohesion, and efficiency, among its many campuses.
“I’m glad the governor’s taking this on,” said Joni E. Finney, a former director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Research on Higher Education.
But Finney noted that state-supported universities such as Penn State would retain their own independent governance structure. And that means the in-state competition among public colleges for students could continue to be a problem, she said.
“I would be disappointed,” Finney said, “if this is the only thing that the governor does.”
The Stakes
Shapiro has signaled he intends to make higher education a signature issue of his administration, and he has also made clear he is not happy with the status quo.
Last month he criticized M. Elizabeth Magill, then president of the University of Pennsylvania, for failing to “speak and act with moral clarity” after her testimony to Congress about campus antisemitism. Penn is a private institution, and Shapiro is a nonvoting member of its board.
The governor’s plan will be a test of his ability to drive the higher-ed conversation, and improve affordability and access.
There is plenty of room for improvement, as Pennsylvania ranks 48th in the nation for college affordability and 49th for state spending on higher education, according to the governor’s office.
