APRIL 2, 2012 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Pennsylvania Higher Education Spending

Pennsylvania taxpayers subsidize higher education through appropriations to 14 state-owned universities (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, or PASSHE), four state-related universities (Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, and Lincoln), community colleges, and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), which awards grants

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 | Commentary by CHARLES MITCHELL

Pennsylvania’s Public Universities Have Indigestion

If you ask them, they'll say they're hurting because budget-slashing Gov. Tom Corbett just forced something nasty down their throats—namely cuts to the subsidies they receive from Keystone State taxpayers.  Their problem, many of them say, is not enough money, and the only answer is raising tuition on students and parents.

MAY 19, 2011 | Commentary by ANDREW GILLEN

Spending for Higher Education Doesn't Create Economic Growth

The Coleman Report, published in 1966, and subsequent experience and analysis has demolished the idea that inputs alone are very useful in explaining the output of K-12. As the college level, the college attainment rate is also quite stubborn in spite of dramatic increases in funding over the years. In other words, spending more does not au

APRIL 27, 2011 | Commentary by GILES HOWARD

A Pitt Student’s Take on Corbett’s Budget Proposal

As a Pitt student, I will not be joining in those manufactured protests, nor will I be participating in lobbying activities like Pitt's yearly "Harrisburg Day" when the University spends tuition money to send busloads of students and administrators to the state capitol to lobby for increased funding. Indeed, as a Pitt student, I think t

APRIL 11, 2011 | Commentary by JAY OSTRICH

White-out not Needed for Higher Ed Cuts

Today, the percentage of students enrolling at Pennsylvania's public universities who don't graduate four year ranges from 42-89 percent, with Penn State boasting a mere 58 percent. As for their 19 branch campuses, that success rates drops to anywhere from 11 to 48 percent.

APRIL 6, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Higher Education Spending & Performance

Gov. Tom Corbett's FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall spending to pre-stimulus levels and proposes no new taxes. This is the second in a series of fact sheets on the state budget.

MARCH 24, 2011 | Commentary by MICHAEL POLIAKOFF, CHARLES MITCHELL

The Bubble Bursts at Penn State

The story is told that when someone asked John D. Rockefeller how much money is enough, he responded, "Just one dollar more."  Penn State's President, Graham Spanier, like most college leaders, seems to agree.

JANUARY 19, 2010 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Mann-Made Global Warming?

Climategate was born in late November 2009 with the release of more than a thousand emails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England.  One of the prominent figures in these emails is Penn State's Michael Mann, a professor in the university's Department of Meteorology. To Penn Stat

JANUARY 12, 2010 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Climategate & Penn State

The Case for an Independent Investigation

Just days after news broke about what has been dubbed "Climategate," Penn State University (PSU) announced that it would investigate the conduct of Michael Mann, a professor in PSU's Department of Meteorology and a prominent figure in the Climategate emails.

NOVEMBER 30, 2009 | Commentary by ELIZABETH STELLE, NATHAN BENEFIELD

Taxing Tuition: The Future of Higher Education?

With Pittsburgh on the brink of bankruptcy thanks to its continual out-of-control spending, Mayor Ravenstahl and his allies on City Council have hatched a new scheme to collect more money to pay for their profligate ways: a 1% tuition tax on the city's financially-strapped college students.