The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which includes Cheyney University, is operating this year with no increases in state funding, writes Susan Snyder for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The flat-funding comes after three years of state funding increases to the college system.
“We knew it was going to be difficult given the revenue situation in the Commonwealth,” said Christopher Fiorentino, chancellor of the PSSHE and former president of West Chester University. “We weren’t blindsided by this.”
Cheyney University lies in Delaware and Chester counties.
Penn State and Temple University, considered state-related universities, were also flat-funded this year. Penn State Brandywine is in Media.
Some of the funding freeze for Cheyney was offset by a special $5 million earmark “to develop and implement an enhanced transfer and workforce development initiative in partnership with a community college.”
The state system had asked for a 6.5 percent increase in the state’s general appropriation, which would have brought in another $40 million
The state colleges are also getting hit with a loss of about a third of their enrollment since 2010, though Cheyney saw a 38 percent increase in its enrollment this year.
Read how the state colleges and universities are coping with funding and enrollment in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Editor’s Note: This post was initially published on DELCO.Today in January 2026.
