Effective for the fall 2023 semester, students taking 19.5 or more credits per semester will notice an increased tuition bill for their classes.

Penn State announced that students with 19.5 or more credits will receive an additional per-credit rate for any credit hours exceeding 19.5. Lower-division undergraduates at University Park can expect an $820 per-credit surcharge, with amounts ranging from $552 to $641 at the Commonwealth Campuses, and $626 at Penn State World Campus.

Students registered for 19.5 or more credits for the fall 2023 semester can expect a separate tuition bill from the Bursar’s office. Students’ revised statements will be issued in September in addition to their regular account statements from August.

The surcharge was approved during the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Finance, Business, and Capital Planning’s meeting at Penn State Behrend in July. The change was announced following the Board of Trustees’ decision to raise tuition for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.

Penn State noted that LionPATH will alert students before they enroll in 19.5 or more credits. The university’s online tuition calculator will also help students plan additional charges as a result of the change based on the courses they select.

Additionally, the new per-credit tuition pricing will not affect graduate students. More information is available online at the Penn State Graduate School for graduate pricing information.

Additional revenue from the surcharge will allow for further investments to be made to improve academic programs, according to the university.