Tuition at Northeast Pennsylvania colleges and universities is increasing amid a changing higher education landscape.
Ten two- and four-year higher education institutions in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties are raising tuition for the 2025-26 school year, according to information provided by officials at the institutions. The increases range from 2% to 6.8%, with officials citing rising costs as the reason for the hikes.
Tuition at Penn State University’s Commonwealth Campuses, which includes Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and Schuylkill, isn’t increasing for in-state undergraduates, but is going up 1% for out-of-state undergraduates and in-state graduate students, and 2% for out-of-state graduate students
The university’s board of trustees approved the same figures for the 2026-27 academic year last month.
The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education agreed last month to raise in-state undergraduate tuition for the first time in seven years. Students will pay $7,994 annually, a $278 increase, or 3.6%, with individual universities deciding on graduate and out-of-state undergraduate tuition rates, as well as room, board and mandatory fees.
The system, which includes Kutztown University, East Stroudsburg University and Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, requested a 6.5%, or $40.3 million, increase in its state funding, which would raise the total to $661.1 million. If the full funding request comes through, the board will roll back the tuition hike.
Challenges, changes in NEPA higher education
The rising tuitions come as colleges and universities in the region merge and close.
Both Lackawanna College and Keystone College agreed to merge with another higher education entity.
Lackawanna College’s merger with Philadelphia-based Peirce College took effect last month. Announced last year, it created the largest private, nonprofit open-enrollment college in the state, with Peirce taking Lackawanna College’s name.
Keystone College completed its merger with the Washington Institute for Education and Research, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, in May. Keystone College Inc. merged into Keystone College LLC, with WIER as the sole member. The college in Lackawanna and Wyoming counties will continue operations under its current name and educational mission, while remaining accredited.
Keystone’s merger was completed after a difficult 2024. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education ordered the college to prepare a teach-out plan, college officials cut positions, placed an administrator on leave and the commission informed the college its accreditation was being withdrawn. The commission changed the college’s status from “accreditation withdrawn under appeal” to “non-compliance show cause” earlier this year when they received financial information and the college’s new ownership structure request.
Clarks Summit University closed last August due to financial and enrollment challenges. In May, Penn State’s board of trustees approved closing seven campuses, including Penn State Wilkes-Barre, after May 2027
Tuition increase factors
Officials at colleges and universities in the region cited rising operating costs, as well as increasing health care and insurance, for raising tuition.
“We’re trying to be very fiscally responsible whenever it comes to having a good check and balance between increasing our student tuition … and then obviously being mindful of different things that we have to afford for our faculty and staff,” said Jared Menghini, vice president of enrollment management at Wilkes University.
Erin Herman, vice president of finance at Luzerne County Community College, said a $2 million increase in health insurance during the latest fiscal year and stagnant public funding for the college resulted in the tuition increase, something college officials didn’t do from 2019 to 2022.
“It’s a strategic and necessary step to preserve LCCC’s long-term financial health, mission and workforce training programs,” she said.
Michelle Schmude, vice provost for enrollment management at Geisinger College of Health Sciences, said Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine receives financial and infrastructure support from the health system, as well as support from outside donors and foundations. However, faculty and staff salaries, supplies and resources have increased.
“We have increased our tuition some but not enough to offset those increasing costs,” she said in an emailed statement.
Officials at Wilkes, King’s, Luzerne County Community College, Misericordia and Marywood said their enrollment has remained steady and increased for first-year students. Marywood President Lisa Lori said the incoming class of first-year and transfer students is the largest in the university’s history, with around 500 expected.
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King’s College in Wilkes-Barre (FILE)
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Lackawanna College on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The Wilkes University emblem on a pillar at Wilkes University on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Lackawanna College on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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King’s College in Wilkes-Barre (FILE)
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Making college affordable
Officials said they are committed to keeping attendance affordable for students, offering financial assistance, including financial aid, scholarships and federally backed programs such as work study and federal student aid.
College officials said the majority of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid.
“Our financial aid packages include scholarships, grants and need-based assistance. For a number of families, depending on financial need, the full cost of attendance is covered through a combination of institutional, federal and state aid,” University of Scranton spokesman Stan Zygmunt said in an email. “We also actively work with families to navigate the financial aid process, connect them with outside scholarships and provide individualized guidance to help make a Scranton education attainable.”
Lackawanna College officials said the college offers multiple pathways for students to minimize their debt through its community partnerships with local high schools and employers. Luzerne County Community College also has community partnerships, two of which allow employees of Luzerne County and the city of Wilkes-Barre who attend the college to receive discounts.
Tim Pryle, Keystone’s vice president of enrollment, institutional advancement and marketing, said in addition to federal and state grants and loans, the college offers institutional need-based aid and donor-funded scholarships, as well as payment plans.
At King’s College, the Luzerne and Lackawanna Education Opportunity program covers tuition and fees for students whose families earn less than $50,000 a year. Many students in the program are first-generation college students, Christopher Dearth, vice president for enrollment management and marketing, said. The college also has a tuition match program for students from Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware, partnered with nearly 40 Catholic schools nationwide to offer $2,500 on top of merit-based awards and established the Presidential Hope Fund, which helps financially at-risk students cover tuition, books and living expenses.
Misericordia University Chief of Staff Jim Roberts said between 67% and 72% of students graduate between four and six years, reducing their total cost of attendance.
At Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, the Abigail Geisinger Scholars program allows students to receive tuition assistance, including loan forgiveness and a living stipend, by staying local and practicing medicine for four years.
“This is a way that medical students can finish medical school with very little, if any, debt and give back to their community,” Schmude said.
NEPA college tuition increase amounts for 2025-26 academic year
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton, Lackawanna County2% increase, or $1,230 for in-state students and $1,365 for out-of-state studentsAnnual in-state: $62,722Annual out-of-state: $69,675
Johnson College, Scranton, Lackawanna County2.6% increase, or $500 annuallyAnnual: $19,400
Keystone College, La Plume Twp., Lackawanna County and Factoryville, Wyoming County2% increase, or $320 more for undergraduate students; no change for graduate studentsAnnual undergraduate: $16,120Annual graduate: $650 per creditOnline courses (graduate and undergraduate): $500 per credit
King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County2.4% increase, or $1,000 for undergraduate students; dollar amount varies for graduate programsAnnual undergraduate: $43,000Graduate: Between $323 and $1,286 per credit
Lackawanna College, Scranton, Lackawanna County4% increase, or $350.Annual full-time student: $9,075
Luzerne County Community College, Nanticoke, Luzerne County3% increase, or $5 for residents of Luzerne, Columbia and Northumberland counties, $10 for residents of other Pennsylvania counties and $15 for out-of-state residents per credit hour; and $75 for residents of Luzerne, Columbia and Northumberland counties, $150 for residents of other Pennsylvania counties and $225 for out-of-state residents attending full time per semester.
Full-time students:Luzerne, Columbia and Northumberland County residents: $2,325 per semesterOther Pennsylvania county residents: $4,650 per semesterOut-of-state residents: $6,975 per semester
Students taking 1-11 credits per semester and credits in excess of 18 per semester:Luzerne, Columbia and Northumberland County residents: $155 per credit hourOther Pennsylvania county residents: $310 per credit hourOut-of-state residents: $465 per credit hour
Marywood University, Scranton and Dunmore, Lackawanna County4.76% increase, or $1,880 for undergraduate students; and between zero to 5% for graduate students, dollar amounts vary by program.Annual undergraduate: $41,370Graduate: between $462 to $1,050 per credit
Misericordia University, Dallas, Luzerne County6.8% for undergraduate students, or $2,600; and between 1% and 2% for graduate students, varying by program, or $175 for master’s degree students per semesterAnnual undergraduate: $41,000Graduate: $18,500 per semester for master’s degree students.
Penn State Commonwealth campuses, includes Penn State Hazleton, Schuylkill, Scranton and Wilkes-BarreNo increase for in-state undergraduates, 1% increase for out-of-state undergraduates and in-state graduate students and 2% increase for out-of-state graduate students. Dollar amount increases vary by campus. (Penn State Wilkes-Barre out-of-state tuition is for fall 2024; information on fall 2025 wasn’t available.)
Penn State Hazleton, Schuylkill and Scranton:In-state undergraduate: $14,624 annually for freshman and sophomores; $15,786 annually for juniors and seniors.Out-of-state undergraduate: $25,056 annually for freshmen and sophomores; $26,200 annually for juniors and seniors.In-state graduate: $26,278 annually for business, earth and mineral sciences, science, information science and technology, and engineering, and $24,896 annually for other programs.Out-of-state graduate: $34,354 annually for business, earth and mineral sciences, science, information science and technology, and engineering, and $32,834 annually for other programs.
Penn State Wilkes-Barre:In-state undergraduate: $13,824 annually for freshmen and sophomores; juniors and seniors: $15,578 annually for business, earth and mineral sciences, science, information science and technology, and engineering, and $14,920 annually for other programs.Out-of-state undergraduate: $23,786 annually for freshmen and sophomores; juniors and seniors: $25,152 annuallyIn-state graduate: $25,110 annually for business, earth and mineral sciences, science, information science and technology, and engineering, and $23,794 annually for other programs.Out-of-state graduate: $32,700 annually for business, earth and mineral sciences, science, information science and technology, and engineering, and $31,248 annually for other programs.
University of Scranton, Scranton, Lackawanna County3.25% increase, or $1,730.Annual undergraduate: $54,938Graduate: On-campus programs, $965 per credit; online programs, $895 per credit
Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County3% increase for undergraduate students, or by $1,246, 1.7% increase for graduate students, or $11.Annual undergraduate: $42,764Graduate: between $588 per credit hour and $22,851 a semester for pharmacy.