Harrisburg University keeps tuition the same for a decade

• Aniya Faulcon
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

 Minick Photography

Airdate: Wednesday, September 14, 2022

College costs have been on a mostly upward trend for the last two decades. High tuition prices, housing, food, transportation, books and other school-related fees can add thousands of dollars to college expenses.

According to U.S. News, In-state tuition and fees at public national universities have grown the most, increasing by over 210%.

Although tuition has increased across the country, Harrisburg University has managed to keep their tuition the same for the past decade.

Eric Darr, Harrisburg University’s President, said the way his university did this is by keeping a goal of student accessibility in mind.

“Universities can have lots of other goals but if your goal is to make your education as accessible as possible, then you’ll do things and you’ll priorities things and activities to keep costs constrained,” Darr said.

He said property management, health care providers, brokers, and fundraises help to make consistent tuition rates possible for the university as well.

Darr said he believes one of the reasons students stay at his university is because of the consistent tuition rates. The tuition is $23,000 and he said, a family would pay on average, after  scholarships and grants about $3,000. Last year, the university gave more than $10 million in scholarships.

“What it means to our students is that they have a chance, they have the opportunity to pay for a life changing career that they find fascinating,” Darr said. “Am I able to promise that we’re not going to ever raise tuition? No, I can’t do that. But can I say we’re going to work in the next ten years, as hard as we have over the last ten years, to keep education as affordable as possible. Absolutely, yes.”