While Gov. Tom Wolf and members of the state legislature stare each other down across the aisle in Harrisburg, state universities and their students sit waiting on the sidelines — waiting for a final decision to propel them forward.

When June 30 arrived, college students were in the midst of summer’s glory. But in the state capital, the members of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) held their breath.

Now 77 days past the deadline, Pennsylvanians still wait for the Republican legislature and Democratic governor to strike a budget that suits both sides. Students wait for their state grants to come through so they can pay for school, professors wait for students who wait for money — and the university presidents?

They wait for relief.

“Ultimately, somebody has to give,” Shippensburg University President George “Jody” Harpster said.

In almost any argument, Harpster explained, both sides need to give a little in order to reach a resolution.

“In my view, because both sides of this argument are bright and capable people, both of them will find ways to give, and we’ll get back onto some course again where reason and rationality and a commitment to the people is better served,” Harpster said.

In the meantime, SU and other PASSHE colleges must find ways to function without full support from the state. SU has a reserve fund set aside to keep campus running, nearly $6 million, but this money would most likely run out after a year-and-a-half, Harpster said.

While the lack of a state budget is unsettling, it will not cause garbage to pile up or electricity to shut off in the residence halls. Bills will continue to be paid, and SU will operate as usual.

Although the university is not exactly in a panic mode, there are some students who are feeling the budget’s burden.

Perhaps one of the biggest impacts of the frozen state budget is the lack of grants coming from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). Millions of students receive financial support from PHEAA in some form or another.

Currently, if you visit the PHEAA website, you will find a large yellow box on the homepage, alerting students to the current budget crisis.

“Until the state budget has been signed by the Governor, PHEAA is unable to confirm awards or disburse funds to schools and employers for the current 2015-16 Academic Year,” pheaa.org states.

Since the start of the semester, SU has been crediting the PHEAA and PEAP (Pennsylvania Educational Assistance Program) funds that its students would normally receive. However, SU can only give students so much.

“Shippensburg is basically using its own money to give students as much of an advance as is fiscally possible while waiting on those funds to be released to us from the state,” said Sandra Tarbox, SU director of financial aid and scholarships.

The amount the university is able to advance to each eligible student depends on how much money the state will eventually send in — once the governor signs the budget.

Currently, there are 1,829 SU students who rely on PHEAA funds for the fall semester. Together, their funds total $2,773,859, according to the financial aid office. Additionally, there are 75 PEAP students who normally receive a collective total of $240,618 from the state.

Each situation is different, but a student living on campus may be waiting on $800, while SU can only provide up to $600. Students living off campus can be given up to $1,200.

Members from the faculty union, Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), spent three days last week encouraging students to fill out postcards to send to their state senator.

They set up a table outside the Ezra Lehman Memorial Library and inside the Ceddia Union Building from Sept. 8 to 11.

Diana Worden, the office manager for APSCUF, listened to a student describe his need to pick up a part-time job — just to pay his rent.

“It’s putting students in a very difficult situation,” said professor Cheryl Slattery of the SU education department.

According to Slattery, professors at the 13 other PASSHE schools are running similar initiatives to get students talking and to get the state listening.

In Harrisburg, the PASSHE Board of Governors is spending ample time on the hill to get the state system schools their funding.

“If we don’t get the amount we need from the state, universities will have to make additional cuts,” Kenn Marshall, PASSHE’s media relations manager, said.

How these cuts are made will be up to the individual universities.

Wolf is trying to secure an 11 percent funding increase for PASSHE. Previously, the state legislature proposed a 3 percent increase, which Wolf vetoed, according to Marshall.

Missing the June 30 budget deadline is not a new experience for the folks in Harrisburg.

“It’s something we’ve dealt with before and we’ll muddle through,” Marshall said. It could be October before a budget is agreed upon.

“There’s no hard and fast date beyond June 30,” Marshall said.

In the meantime, universities must consider how to operate frugally. Regardless of whether PASSHE gets the 11 percent, there is still a $66 million deficit to tackle.

Although Harpster said SU is in a good place, he recognizes the possible need for further changes, and some have already been made.

At the start of this academic year, SU had to identify $6 million in cuts and/or revenue. Each division of the university had to make decisions and cut the budgets by 6 percent. Academic affairs, student affairs, technology and library services, administration and finance and the president’s office all made adjustments to save money, according to Harpster.

Over the past 10 years, SU cut more than $34.5 million from the budget.

If the state budget takes a turn for the worse, even more cuts might need to be made, possibly to faculty. At this point, SU has not laid off any existing employee positions, Harpster said. For now, other budget cuts seem to be working out.

While students and the university president alike wait for Wolf and the state legislature to come to an understanding, these “if” statements loom in the distance.

“If we can’t find those additional cuts through this coming year then it may be necessary to lay off existing personnel,” Harpster said, but that would depend on many factors — like the approval of a per-credit tuition plan.

Whether you are a student struggling to get by or the president of SU, there is one common theme that seems to crop up.

Everyone is just trying to pay the bills.

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