Pennsylvania College Enrollments and Tuition Costs Rise in 1997-98

August 13, 1999



Pennsylvania College Enrollments and Tuition Costs Rise in 1997-98



MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- College and university enrollments in 1997 were up a total of 0.8 percent from the previous year, 

the Pennsylvania State Data Center at Penn State Harrisburg reports.  At the same time, the increase in basic student 

charges from 1996-97 to 1997-98 for all categories of institutions except theological seminaries increased more than 

the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in that time period.



Enrollments: The Data Center reports total fall enrollments in the Commonwealth increased from 542,315 in 1988 to 572,559 

in 1997 (5.3 percent).  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Colleges and Universities Education 

Digest: 1997-98, undergraduate enrollments peaked at 491,453 students in 1992 while graduate enrollments reached a high 

point in 1994 with 82,505 students and first-professional program enrollments peaked at 16,156 in 1996.



In the Commonwealth in the fall of 1997, 338,561 full-time and 136,610 part-time students were enrolled in undergraduate 

programs.  Graduate programs in that year had 31,726 full-time and 49,774 part-time students, while first-professional 

full-time and part-time enrollments totaled 14,492 and 1,396, respectively.

 

Female enrollments in the Commonwealth increased by 3,874 from 1996 to 1997, while male enrollments only grew by 463 in 

that time period.  From 1988 to 1997, the percentage of females enrolled in Pennsylvania colleges and universities grew 

2.8 percent.  In the same time period, male enrollments increased by 0.2 percent.  



In the fall of 1997, there were 203,729 full-time female students enrolled in Commonwealth colleges and universities in 

addition to 112,792 part-time female students.  Male full-time and part-time students in that same time period in 

Pennsylvania totaled 181,050 and 74,988, respectively.



Minority enrollments rose from 1996 to 1997 by 2,151 students (2.7 percent).  Minority enrollments have increased 

significantly since 1988 and have been increasing at a more rapid rate than non-minority enrollments.  Enrollments of 

black students in particular have grown from 6.1 percent in 1988 to 8.1 percent in 1997. 



In 1988, non-minority students accounted for 88.4 percent of the students enrolled in Pennsylvania colleges in 

universities.  In 1997, this decreased to 83 percent.  Minority students enrolled in Commonwealth colleges and universities 

totaled 9.2 percent of total college and university enrollments in the state in1988 and increased to 13.9 percent in 1997. 

In addition, non-resident alien students accounted for 2.4 percent of the total enrollments in 1988 and increased to 3.1 

percent in 1997.



Basic Student Charges: In the 1997-98 school year, average in-state undergraduate charges for tuition and fees at 

four-year private state-aided institutions were $15,550, while private colleges and universities charged $14,225, 

state-related universities charged $5,634, state universities charged $4,265, and theological seminaries charged $3,328.  

Private two-year institution charged an average of $9,107 in 1997-98 and the average tuition and fees for Commonwealth 

community colleges was $1,978 according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Colleges and Universities Education 

Digest: 1997-98.



Graduate in-state tuition and fee charges ranged from $4,173 at state universities to $15,014 at private state-aided 

institutions in the 1997-98 school year.  In that same time period, tuition and fees for first-professional programs 

were $6,195 at theological seminaries, $15,306 at state-related Commonwealth universities, $17,136 at private colleges 

and universities, and $24,170 at private state-aided institutions.



On average, Pennsylvania's state-related universities had the greatest increases in tuition, fees and room and board from 

the 1996-97 to 1997-98 school year with 5.6 percent, followed by private two-year colleges (4.7 percent), private colleges 

and universities (4.5 percent), state universities (3.3 percent) and private state-aided institutions (3.2 percent).  

Community colleges increased tuition and fees by 4.5 percent in this time period.



The Pennsylvania State Data Center is the Commonwealth's official source of population and economic statistics and 

services.  It is based at Penn State Harrisburg's Institute of State and Regional Affairs.  The Pennsylvania State Data 

Center is part of the U.S. Census Bureau's national State Data Center Program.



Editors:  For more information, contact Amy Jonas at the Data Center's State Capital Office, (717) 772-2710, or the 

Penn State Harrisburg's Public Information Office, (717) 948-6029.



Source of Information:	Colleges and Universities Education
			Digest 1997-98
			
Accompany Chart:        Pennsylvania College Enrollments and Tuition Costs Rise in 1997-98