www.HouseAppropriations.com/HDAPPROPS@hacd.net 717-783-1540 Higher Education: Primer March 25, 2022 - Page 3 Community Colleges Community colleges offer two-year and non-degree programs and were designed as a partnership between the state and local sponsors to make higher learning more affordable for students. Community college local sponsors tend to be county governments, although some are supported by groups of school districts. Students who reside in a sponsored area pay lower tuition than students from a non-sponsored location. The Pennsylvania Department of Education distributes community college funding in the budget through a grant program, and the distribution formula is usually set each year by budget implementation legislation. The 15 community colleges are: Community College of Allegheny County Community College of Beaver College Bucks County Community College Butler County Community College Delaware County Community College Erie County Community College Harrisburg Area Community College Lehigh Carbon Community College Luzerne County Community College Montgomery County Community College Northampton Community College Community College of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Reading Area Community College Westmoreland County Community College In June 2020, the State Board of Education approved a new community college located in Erie County in northwestern Pennsylvania. This is the first new community college to be approved in 25 years in Pennsylvania. Even with this expansion, the commonwealth does not have full geographic coverage with its community colleges, meaning many students in different parts of the state do not have access to this mode of learning, despite the need.
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