[5] Because their annual state allocations account for less than 10% of their budgets, universities in the Commonwealth System tend to have higher tuition costs compared to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education which contains 10 state-owned and operated universities.
Because of their independence, universities in the Commonwealth System are exempted from Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law except for a few minor provisions.
[5] Temple and Pitt were granted state-related status by acts of the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1965 and 1966, respectively.
In 1989, Penn State asserted a public status in court for the purpose of not having a private bank branch's operations on its University Park campus subject to local county taxes, while simultaneously asserting private status for the purpose of not having to reveal the salaries of its top administrative employees.
The following universities (listed with their branch and regional campuses) are members of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education: