PASSHE Awards Free Tuition to 28 Community College Transfer Students

Program demonstrates strong partnership
between PASSHE universities and community colleges

Harrisburg, PA - Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is awarding free tuition to 28 high-achieving community college students transferring to its public universities as part of the 2026 All-Pennsylvania Academic Team.

"Each of these students has demonstrated remarkable academic achievement, and we are proud to welcome them to Pennsylvania's system of public universities," said Chancellor Christopher Fiorentino. "Our collaboration with community colleges expands opportunity for students and advances our mission to deliver a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost. We look forward to seeing these students achieve their goals while strengthening Pennsylvania's future workforce."

The program is a collaboration between PASSHE's 10 public universities and Pennsylvania's 15 community colleges and has helped nearly 1,000 students over two decades.

PASSHE universities are a major destination for transfer students
PASSHE universities and community colleges in Pennsylvania coordinate to create a smooth pathway for student transfers. Almost all community college credits are accepted by PASSHE universities, and students with associate degrees from Pennsylvania community colleges are guaranteed admission as juniors.

Nearly 59,000 community college students have transferred to a PASSHE university since 2010.

Students pursuing in-demand careers
Many of the transferring students are pursuing careers in health care, including nursing, STEM professions, education and criminal justice, all fields with worker shortages and high demand.

The students will attend or are considering the following PASSHE universities.

PASSHE and community colleges also have reverse transfer agreements. These policies allow students who transfer before completing an associate degree to apply university credits toward both their associate and bachelor's degrees.

About PASSHE
Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is the public university system of the commonwealth with a mission to provide a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to students. The State System annually confers more than 20,000 degrees and has more than 800,000 living alumni, most of whom live in Pennsylvania. The State System universities are Cheyney, Commonwealth (Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield), East Stroudsburg, Indiana, Kutztown, Millersville, PennWest (California, Clarion and Edinboro), Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester universities of Pennsylvania.