Are you a PA student or parent impacted by unavailable classes or hidden fees? Fill out our official [PA Student Impact Registry Form] to include your story in our legislative package for Harrisburg!

Pennsylvania college students and families are facing record-high costs, but the biggest surprises often come from hidden mandatory fees and administrative graduation delays.

While tuition freezes make headlines, public universities often circumvent them by sharply increasing non-instructional fees—such as technology, health, and campus development fees—that students cannot opt out of.

Even worse, many students who follow every degree requirement find that essential prerequisite or capstone courses are not offered when needed due to departmental cancellations or scheduling conflicts. When a college fails to offer a required course in proper sequence, students are forced into an expensive fifth year, paying thousands of dollars in unexpected tuition, fees, and living costs through no fault of their own.

We are petitioning the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor Josh Shapiro to pass the Higher Education Timely Graduation and Mandatory Fee Integrity Act to: (View Proposal Here)

1. Ban Fee-Shifting: Cap annual percentage increases on mandatory fees so they can never exceed the rate of base tuition increases, keeping fees completely frozen whenever tuition is frozen.
2. Provide a Fifth-Year Tuition Waiver: Require public colleges to provide a 100% tuition and mandatory fee waiver if an undergraduate student in good academic standing is delayed into a fifth year solely because the institution failed to offer a required course.

PA Students & Parents: If you have been forced into an extra semester or hit with unexpected mandatory fees, please share your experience on our official registry form to be included in our legislative testimony: [PA Student Impact Intake Form]