Trustees Approve Dining and Housing Fees for Academic Year 2024–25

The Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees, at its meeting on Friday, Dec. 8, approved increases to student dining and housing fees for the 2024-25 academic year.

The dining fee at all campuses will increase by 10%. Under the new fees, a plan for 14 meals a week will cost $3,155 at Bloomsburg, $3,753 at Lock Haven, and $3,458 at Mansfield.

Commonwealth U. housing fees will increase by 2% at the Bloomsburg campus, 6% at the Lock Haven campus, and 7% at the Mansfield campus in order to narrow current losses or gaps for ongoing expenses and contingent provisions to ensure housing quality can continue to be offered at an affordable cost. Under the new housing fee schedule, a traditional standard room will cost $7,432 at Bloomsburg, $7,106 at Lock Haven, and $7,240 at Mansfield. 

“Our priority is to ensure that a Commonwealth University education is affordable for our students and their families, so the fee increases were kept as low as possible,” said CU President Bashar Hanna.

“These increases are necessary because our current fees are not keeping pace with inflation. It is important for us to maintain a high level of service and quality for our students. The housing fee increase begins to phase in a common cost for housing across the campuses. The dining fee increase only brings us close to covering the actual cost of those services. Commonwealth University’s total cost of attendance, including costs for tuition, fees, housing and dining, makes it one of the most affordable education options for students and families in Pennsylvania and beyond.”  

The trustees also approved a $1,000 per student Physicians Assistant Program fee, which will enable the University to reimburse clinical sites that host physician assistant students on their required clinical rotations. Commonwealth U. has approximately 80 students in the two-year program. More than half of surveyed higher education institutions pay clinical sites to host students, with that trend increasing in terms of sites requiring payment and the amount of payments charged.