Pennsylvania and the nation have a shortage of engineers needed to build critical infrastructure, such as expanded broadband, roads and bridges, water services, and rail, air and clean energy projects, and to support manufacturing and other opportunities in the economy.
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education has a plan to help address the shortage of engineers. The State System is seeking $112 million in state funding to produce more graduates in six in-demand, high-growth jobs, including engineering.
PASSHE would allocate $3 million¬ to support engineering – $1.5 million to expand the high-cost program and $1.5 million to provide direct financial relief – saving high-need engineering students an average of $5,000 per year.
PASSHE feels making a degree more affordable would encourage additional people to pursue careers as civil engineers, electrical engineers, industrial engineers, mechanical engineers and more.
PASSHE is seeking $573.5 million, an increase of $21 million, enabling the Board of Governors to consider freezing the basic in-state undergraduate tuition rate for a fifth consecutive year.
With increased state investment, PASSHE says it can increase enrollment of engineering students by 8% and strengthen the pipeline of future engineers. Closing the labor gap in engineering is critical to updating aging infrastructure, expanding broadband, and supporting growth in manufacturing, renewable technology, robotics, and Pennsylvania’s flourishing biotech sector.
