Pa. - Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom in the amount of budget support it provides to public higher education, according to many widely accepted measures. Penn State President presented the data to the University's Board of Trustees March 18. Pennsylvania is the nation's fifth largest state.
Several measures show Pennsylvania near the bottom of the list in tax support for higher education.
Spanier's presentation to the board was based on data provided by state agencies and national surveys. In fact, we have presented much of it using multiple indices to minimize any perception of bias. In Pennsylvania, educational appropriations for public higher education represent 4.5 percent of all tax revenue. The national average is 6 percent. Among states with a Big 10 institution, Pennsylvania provides a relatively smaller amount of state funding to its public colleges and universities than most other states.