The Board’s unanimous vote keeps basic in-state tuition for undergraduate students in the 2021-22 academic year at $7,716. Also remaining the same will be the System’s technology fee for students, which stands at $478 for the academic year.
“I am proud to join my fellow Board members in prioritizing an accessible, affordable public higher education for our students,” said Cindy Shapira, Board of Governor’s chair. “A quality education and an affordable one, go hand-in- hand at our universities. Students deserve our full support as they continue focusing on attaining a degree through the pandemic.”
Never before has the State System kept year-to-year basic in-state tuition the same for three years, something Chancellor Greenstein pointed to as essential to fulfilling public higher education’s mission.
“Sixty percent of jobs in Pennsylvania require a post-secondary degree, but only 47 percent of Pennsylvanians have one,” Greenstein said. “To help Pennsylvania build a modern-day economy, to remain a reliable pathway for students into and beyond the middle class, to ensure every Pennsylvanian who wants can access a quality higher education, we must take bold action like today’s vote on tuition.”
“On behalf of our students and their families, I would like to thank the BOG for approving the in-state tuition freeze,” said Dr. Bashar Hanna, LHU interim president. “It is essential that we do all we can to keep higher education affordable for our students, particularly during these uncertain economic times as we face the ongoing pandemic.”
In other action, the Board voted unanimously to approve a statement regarding its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), “ensuring the entire State System operates from a foundation of values” where the success of students, faculty, and staff are supported, universities are places where human dignity is never compromised, and ensuring the race and ethnicities of the entire System “reflect the diverse composition” of Pennsylvania.
“This is arguably the most important thing we will do because it so deeply affects the success of our students, our faculty, our staff, indeed our entire system,” Shapira said. “Our institutions have been working hard for decades to make their campuses more inclusive and diverse places to learn, live, and work, but until recently, we have not been in a position to truly leverage the power of being a system in order to advance DEI efforts farther and faster.”
“Lock Haven University is committed to fostering a campus environment, which is equitable, inclusive and welcoming for all,” Hanna said. “Our Haven Family comes from differing backgrounds. By listening and learning from one another, we can grow together as one. Celebrating the diversity within our community provides an opportunity to build on our 150-year legacy to benefit future generations of students, faculty, and staff.”
The board’s DEI statement was the work product of the Board’s commission on diversity, equity, and inclusion that delivered a report outlining a range of recommendations for supporting DEI at every campus, in the Office of the Chancellor, and at the Board-level. The Board also affirmed a new DEI strategy with priorities and actions related to: addressing racial harassment and racist speech on campus; recruiting, nurturing, and retaining students, faculty and staff of color; enhancing mental health resources for all students; improving equity outcomes for all students; creating more inclusive communities; diversifying the curriculum; building a supportive infrastructure; and providing resources for all of these efforts.
“We must continue to look at every aspect and in every corner of the System, from our academic programming to our student cohort to the campus cultures we cultivate,” Greenstein said. “We are the state’s public higher education system, and as such, every student and employee — regardless of background — must feel welcomed and their success supported. We will hold ourselves accountable and ask the public to hold us accountable for living up to our ideals and values.”
For more information on Lock Haven University, visit www.lockhaven.edu, email admissions@lockhaven.edu, or call 570-484-2011.
Lock Haven University (LHU) is a small, public university located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in the scenic mountains of Pennsylvania. LHU’s experience-based approach to learning prepares students for a lifetime of success. The university features outstanding academic programs taught by experienced faculty. Since 1870, The Haven has provided an unbeatable combination of quality, affordability and value to the region, the commonwealth and beyond.
LHU is a member of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth.