Penn State students and their families better brace for this one… They will soon see the biggest tuition hike since the 2010-2011 academic year after a Penn State trustees committee recommended the highest single-year increase in student tuition rates in more a decade. It still needs passage by the full board, but it calls for a 5% hike in rates for students attending Penn State’s University Park campus in State College this fall, and 2% increases through the university’s chain of branch campuses around the state.