When talking about higher education, Pennsylvania is low on the list. The state ranks No. 49 in the nation for state investment and No. 48 for student affordability.
“We got to tell a kid she was accepted into an RN program in Clarion, she was over the moon. Her mom was just elated, next question was how do we pay for this?” Megan Van Fossan, the Sto-Rox superintendent, said.
That’s the common theme for families, but it hits harder for the students who come from lower-income households.
“It’s about 50% of our students who might look at it as an option, but the other 50% not so much because they don’t even think it’s a possibility,” said Shelly Manns who’s a Principal at Woodland Hills High School.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is hoping to change that. In his budget expected to be released Tuesday, he’s overhauling higher education. In his plan, he looks to unite state-owned universities known as PASSHE with the 15 community colleges under one umbrella.
Then he is proposing cutting tuition and fees to just $1,000 a semester at those schools for students coming from a household income of $70,000 or less. According to the last census, that’s nearly half of all households in the state.