Dear Pitt Community Members:
Earlier today, members of our Board of Trustees—acting through the Board’s Executive Committee—convened and approved the University of Pittsburgh’s operating and capital budgets for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Some key highlights:
- Our operating budget is set at $2.7 billion.
- Our capital budget is set at $667.1 million.
- Our projected research base is $1.0 billion—a total that sets Pitt apart as a leading research university. This is the first time in the University’s long history that our projected research budget exceeds this billion-dollar threshold.
- The total funds set aside for increases to our two workforce compensation pools—for annual pay raises and retention—is 4.25%. I have chosen to exceed the University’s Planning and Budgeting Committee’s recommendation on these pools. My decision considered the rate of inflation, intense competition in the labor markets, and the fact that we are following two years in which many faculty and staff salaries were largely held flat during the pandemic. Compensation rate changes vary at the employee level, so please read more about how we will manage our 2022-2023 workforce compensation pools.
- Tuition for the next academic year will increase at rates well below current levels of inflation. For instance: Most in-state students paying full tuition on our Pittsburgh campus will see their tuition rate rise by 3.5%, which—on average—equates to paying about $335 more per term. Regional campus tuition rates will rise by 2%. As in recent years, the University is devoting a significant portion of the revenue from these increases to bolstering institutional financial aid for students. Read more about our 2022-2023 tuition rates.
I want to thank the University Planning and Budgeting Committee for its commitment to finalizing these budgets and doing so in a way that supports and advances the strategic goals outlined in our Plan for Pitt. As always, these decisions are the product of many difficult calculations and conversations—and occur within a continuous effort to reduce costs, promote sustainability, prioritize health and safety and advance academic and research excellence.
I also want to thank the thousands of stakeholders and supporters who spent the last five months advocating on behalf of Pitt and Pennsylvania’s students and families. And I am equally grateful for our leaders in Harrisburg, who passed Pitt’s funding last week—a move that preserves our nearly 60-year partnership with the state. We will continue to use every penny of this funding to cut the cost of tuition—by an average of nearly $15,000 annually—for each in-state undergraduate at Pitt.
With the budget cycle behind us, I am excited for the new academic year, the new opportunities it will bring and the chance to see students, faculty and staff continue the important work of advancing our university’s mission—creating and leveraging knowledge for society’s gain—together.
Respectfully,
Chancellor Patrick Gallagher