Pitt has asked for a 3.4% increase in state funding in the 2027-28 Pennsylvania budget. The University submitted its request to the Pennsylvania Department of Education at the end of September. 

 

A Pitt spokesperson said the 3.4% increase is “consistent with the projected 2027 Higher Education Price Index,” a metric used to calculate inflation and cost trends for higher education.

 

Pitt and the three other state-related universities — Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — have not received an increase in funding from the state since 2019. For Pitt, the annual appropriation has been $151.5 million during that time. All four institutions use the state appropriation to give tuition discounts to in-state students, with Pitt’s discount coming to nearly $20,000 annually per student.

 

Under the 2026-27 University budget approved by Pitt’s Board of Trustees in July, tuition rates went up for all students this year, including 1% at the regional campuses, 3% for in-state undergraduates at the Pittsburgh campus, and 2% for in-state graduate students.

 

At that time, Pitt’s chief financial officer, Dwayne Pinkney, said that Pitt’s average annual tuition increase for in-state students has averaged a little more than 2% since 2020, which is below the inflation rate for U.S. colleges and universities.

 

The governor typically presents the state budget proposal in February to the legislature. The state House and Senate are supposed to complete their work on the budget by the end of June, then vote on the appropriations for the four institutions of higher ed. Historically, they have missed the June deadline several times.