Update, February 18: Penn State’s Board of Trustees officially approved raised 2022-23 room and board rates during a full-board meeting on Friday. Trustees passed the motion with only four “no” votes.

Original Story: On Thursday, a Penn State Board of Trustees committee officially convened to propose a notable increase to students’ room and board rates for the 2022-23 academic year.

The board’s Committee on Finance, Business, and Capital Planning proposed a $212 per student per semester increase for those living in a standard double room with a mid-level meal plan. The changes reflect a 3.50% increase from the 2021-22 academic year’s average rates.

Under the newly proposed rates, the average on-campus student will pay $6,291 over the course of the next academic year. If approved at Friday’s full board meeting, exact pricing will fluctuate in response to students’ residence halls, rooms, meal plan levels, and more.

Just over 2.33% of the increased costs are attributed to predicted rising operating costs for Housing and Food Services. The other 1.17% aims to support both expansions to the department’s operations as well as renovations to Pollock Halls dorms.

The supported renovations to Pollock Halls originally spanned from the 2021-22 academic year through 2024-25. However, due to financial constraints imposed by the pandemic, renovations are expected to begin during the 2024-25 year.

The proposed 3.50% room and board increase sits just a smidge higher than 2021-22’s 3.45% hike. It was noted, however, that given the high rates of inflation over the past year, Penn State is fortunate enough to keep this increase far below the current inflation rate.

John Papazoglou, the associate vice president for Auxiliary and Business Services, said that the proposed increase is meant to support increases in the 2022-23 budget. The primary budget increase comes from rising food costs, which are impacted by both inflation rates and supply chain shortages. The budget hike is also impacted by projected increases in employee payroll and benefits.

“We are committed to doing our part to help reduce the overall cost of a Penn State education, and that includes doing everything we reasonably can to reduce our costs and find efficiencies in our operations so that room and board rates can be held as low as possible,” Papazoglou said.