Harrisburg, PA – As part of the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to ensuring all Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to succeed, Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver today announced new and enhanced tuition benefits to make higher education more affordable for Commonwealth employees and their families.
York College of Pennsylvania is now offering a tuition discount for dependents of Commonwealth employees. Eligible family members, enrolled full-time in a four-year degree program, will receive a reduction in their tuition of $6,000 per year. York College already offers a 15 percent discount on tuition for graduate and professional programs to eligible Commonwealth employees.
Russell Sage College is now offering a 10 percent tuition discount and waived application fees on select online graduate degree programs: Criminal Justice and Community Corrections, Mental Health Counseling and Community Psychology, Applied Nutrition, Master of Business Administration, Health Services Administration, and Organization Management. Both Commonwealth employees and their dependents are eligible for this discount.
“By making higher education more affordable for our employees and their families, we are strengthening and empowering the workforce that serves all Pennsylvanians and cultivating the next generation of public servants and leaders,” said Secretary Weaver. “Tuition benefits help us attract high-caliber talent and support their development and growth. We appreciate York College of Pennsylvania’s ongoing collaboration and welcome Russell Sage College to our growing list of participating colleges and universities.”
“York College is committed to making higher education accessible and attainable for Pennsylvania families,” said York College President Dr. Thomas Burns. “By joining with the Commonwealth to provide these tuition discounts, we are proud to support the educational aspirations of employees and their dependents while helping to prepare the next generation of leaders who will strengthen our communities and our state.”
Russell Sage is the first out-of-state institution to offer Commonwealth employees and their dependents this educational benefit. The college has also collaborated with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections on community corrections training.
“We’re honored to work with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to offer this benefit to Commonwealth employees and their dependents,” said Russell Sage President Matthew Shaftel. “We believe the online M.S. in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections is groundbreaking and responsive to shifting needs in the field, and we’re pleased to extend the tuition discount to our other affordable and practical online and Flex master’s programs.”
The Office of Administration has prioritized building relationships with colleges and universities to provide higher education benefits, part of a broader effort by the Shapiro Administration to improve the recruitment and retention of high-performing employees to serve in our state agencies and deliver the services that Pennsylvanians rely on each day. The Commonwealth currently offers the following higher education benefits:
Tuition Assistance
- Elizabethtown College offers a 15 percent discount on all undergraduate and graduate programs for Commonwealth employees and their dependents.
- Holy Family University offers a 25 percent tuition discount and waived application fees for Commonwealth employees and their spouses.
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology offers a 25 percent discount on tuition for on-campus graduate and certificate programs for Commonwealth employees, a 10 percent discount off the tuition rate or training fee for on-campus graduate degree or certificate programs for dependents of Commonwealth employees, and a 10 percent discount for undergraduate or graduate online degree programs for both.
- Peirce College offers a 25 percent discount on all undergraduate and graduate programs for Commonwealth employees.
- Penn State Harrisburg offers a 15 percent discount on tuition for all graduate programs at the university’s campus in Middletown, Dauphin County, and online for Commonwealth employees and their dependents.
- Pennsylvania Western University (PennWest) Global Online offers a 20 percent discount on tuition for their online undergraduate, master’s and certificate degree programs to eligible Commonwealth employees.
Scholarships
- Central Penn College offers a one-time $1,000 scholarship, distributed over the first three academic terms, to eligible Commonwealth employees who enroll in a program and complete three terms of study.
Student Loans
- The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) offers an interest rate discount of 0.25 percent for Commonwealth employees who are a borrower or co-signer on new PA Forward loans.
- Commonwealth employees may qualify for loan forgiveness through the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF.
To learn more about working for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, visit employment.pa.gov to view and apply to current job openings, receive notifications about new vacancies in their field, and see all the Commonwealth benefits available to employees.
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