Letter to the Editor: Keith R. McCall

Oct. 21, 2009

The Honorable Keith R. McCall
PA House of Representatives
139 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2122

Dear Representative McCall:

As the leaders of the state-related universities, we write to implore you to finalize the Commonwealth’s budget and pass the appropriation bills for our state-related universities now or at least upon the House’s return to session November 9th. Together, our state-related universities are the largest sector of public higher education in the Commonwealth and serve as the state’s primary scientific research and economic development engines. As such, they have become a destination of choice for many of Pennsylvania’s most committed and talented high school students. These 158,000- plus Pennsylvania students (including more than 130,000 undergraduates) and their families continue to be directly impacted by the delay and uncertainty created by the lack of a final appropriation for each university.

All of us appreciate the efforts to restore the federal State Fiscal Stabilization (SFS) funding to the state-related universities, thereby minimizing funding reductions and preventing the dramatic tuition increases to Pennsylvania students and their families that would have resulted. However, while the protracted budget delay has imposed difficulty and hardship on many throughout the state, extending that delay is perpetuating the financial consequences and uncertainty for the state-related universities, our students and their families. It is our understanding that there are sufficient funds in the enacted budget to pass the appropriation bills for the state-related universities.

All four state-related universities have worked as partners with the Commonwealth throughout this entire budget process, including targeted lobbying of Congress to support the SFS provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, coming to agreement on further extension of the articulation legislation, and perhaps most importantly, as urged by the Governor and Legislative Leadership, to keep tuition increases to historically low levels. That commitment to keep tuition increases as low as possible was honored notwithstanding all the uncertainty that existed when we had to set tuition levels without knowing what our approved appropriation levels would be, and also, whether SFS funds would in fact be provided to the state-related universities. However, at the time our tuition levels were set, it was also stated that those decisions may have to be revisited for the second semester. We have not yet set our tuition for the second semester, and those decisions must be made very soon so that bills can be mailed beginning November 13th. In order to maintain the low tuition increases at our universities, there needs to be assurance that the funding levels in our pending appropriation bills will be enacted soon.

We respectfully request that all reasonable and appropriate measures be taken to finalize the budget and the appropriations of Pennsylvania’s state-related universities in order to minimize the financial harm and uncertainty impacting our students and their families.

Thank you for your efforts to bring the funding crisis that our institutions currently face to a positive conclusion.

Mark A. Nordenberg
Chancellor
University of Pittsburgh

Ann W. Hart
President
Temple University

Graham Spanier
President
Penn State University

Ivory V. Nelson
President
Lincoln University