Penn State trustees approved the 2027-28 budget with tuition increases for many students and a $210,000 retention bonus for president Neeli Bendapudi at Friday’s meeting.
In the 2027-28 budget, in-state students at Penn State University Park will see a 2.5% increase and out-of-state students will see their tuition go up by 4%. At commonwealth campuses, in-state students will see no tuition increase and out-of-state will see a 1% increase.
The board also voted to give President Bendapudi a 15% retention bonus on her $1.4 million base salary.
Board chair David Kleppinger said many universities are seeing a lot of turnover in the position.
“I believe President Bendapudi is now the third or fourth most senior president in the Big Ten Conference with a four-year history,” Kleppinger said. “So it goes to show how short some of the tenures are and the disruptions that can occur presidential transitions.”
Bendapudi’s pay package also includes an automatic 3.5% increase every year.
In the 2027-28 budget, the board also approved a 3% pool for employee raises and graduate student stipends will go up 4%.
