In a unanimous vote, the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education last week agreed to seek a five percent increase in state funding in order to freeze in-state tuition for 2026-27. In the absence of a state budget, the vote comes without PASSHE knowing what the current year’s state appropriation will be. In July, the State System increased tuition by $278 with the understanding that it could revisit the topic once it knew the new funding level, but that figure still is not known.
At the quarterly meeting, faculty union president Dr. Kenneth Mash took issue with the appropriation request, advocating for a much higher figure. Mash said the five percent request would help PASSHE maintain the status quo for university standards and potential future improvements, but bluntly stated, “Just in case you haven’t heard, the ‘status quo’ sucks.” He said, “Programs are being cut, technology needs to be purchased, needed repairs are deferred, services are being reduced, and faculty, coaches, and staff have been pushed to the breaking point, to name only a few issues.”
Mash also thanked IUP President Michael Driscoll for attending a town hall-style meeting concerning a proposed side-letter about how the faculty collective bargaining agreement will be treated with IUP’s creation of the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
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