The president of the State System faculty union yesterday testified before the House Democratic Policy Committee, pushing for more funding for the fourteen state-owned universities.
APSCUF President Kenneth Mash told the lawmakers that the share of a family’s income needed to educate a student at a State System school has risen from one-fifth to more than one-third since 2000, and the constant tuition increases have had a particularly damaging effect on those universities that most cater to lower-income students, specifically Cheyney, Mansfield, Clarion, Edinboro, Lock Haven, and California.
Mash called Governor Wolf’s proposal for a two percent funding increase in this year’s budget “a good place to start”, but pointed out that that would still only put funding at 1999’s level.
Saying “Pennsylvania is at a real crossroads”, Mash said the state is falling down the list of state’s that have neglected public higher education. He said Pennsylvania is 47th of the 50 states in per-student spending for public colleges and universities.
