No Undergraduate Tuition Increases at Pitt Regional Campuses for 2009-10

Issue Date: 
April 26, 2009
Clock tower on the University of Pittsburgh  at Bradford campusClock tower on the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford campus

The University of Pittsburgh said that there will be no tuition increases for the undergraduate programs offered at its regional campuses in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville for the 2009-10 academic year. Approximately 7,000 Pitt students will benefit from this decision.

In making this announcement, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg stated, “Particularly in these difficult times, the University is sensitive to the difficult task of balancing our own financial uncertainties with the challenges faced by families who are budgeting to meet tuition expenses. As a result, we are redoubling our efforts to limit tuition increases.”

In commenting on the likely level of tuition increases for programs offered at the University’s Pittsburgh campus, Nordenberg further noted, “At best, it will be several weeks before the Commonwealth’s budget has been approved, permitting us to make the revenue and expense projections necessary to determine the tuition increases that will be necessary for the more complex array of programs offered in Pittsburgh. Some increases seem inevitable, but we will do our best to temper them.”

The University Planning and Budgeting Committee (UPBC)—which is chaired by Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor James V. Maher and includes representatives of the administration, faculty, staff, and students—supported taking this action now, while recognizing that tuition decisions regarding programs on the Pittsburgh campus would have to await further information and analysis. The UPBC also had supported the recently announced salary freeze, which will be in place for the 2009-10 academic year.

In commenting on the challenges that still must be met in constructing the University’s budget, Maher stated, “We are relieved that federal stimulus legislation has positioned the Commonwealth to restore Pitt’s appropriation to the level approved for the current fiscal year. However, as our families know, inflation has continued to rise over the past decade, and state funding over that period has provided little relief from steadily increasing costs. Inevitably, then, there have been strong upward pressures on tuition.”