Pennsylvania

Auditor: Penn State Tuition Hike Driven by Building Boom, Fallen Subsidies

A new report says Penn State needs to address what's described as skyrocketing tuition and spiking enrollment of out-of-state students and international students, compared to in-state student enrollment.

Pennsylvania's Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday that tuition has jumped by more than 500 percent over the past three decades, driven in part by an ambitious building boom and falling state government subsidies.

READ the full audit

DePasquale said the audit found Penn State "appears" to favor out-of-state students over Pennsylvania residents because of the higher tuition costs they reap. International and out-of-state students pay more in tuition.

The study also says background clearances are missing for some of the adults who work at youth camps on campus.

DePasquale says Penn State's 36-member board of trustees is too large, and is urging lawmakers to fully apply Pennsylvania's open-records law to the university.

Penn State says it's working to reduce costs and find new revenues. The university says there's no bias against in-state students.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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