All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

[iupgroundhog]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

Comment retracted

[jrshooter]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The "my taxes shouldn't be funding other people's kids' educations" crowd is frustrating. My kids don't use the state hospitals or the state prisons so why should my taxes go for them?

The truest thing that has been said. I am so tired of people reminding others that they pay taxes. Hey, we all pay taxes, and in this society, not every cent we put out is going to come back directly to us. But it's how society works. It's in the name of the greater good.

Outside of Cheyney -- again, because it has been run poorly and because there is another state school right there -- it would damage the state system if ANY other school were to fold its tents.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

Consider the locations of these schools. The towns are built around the schools. It would crippling. At its most basic form think of how many even the smallest schools employ ... from the top positions all the way down to the cafeteria. There would be nothing left of the majority of these towns.

[iupgroundhog]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

Consider the locations of these schools. The towns are built around the schools. It would crippling. At its most basic form think of how many even the smallest schools employ ... from the top positions all the way down to the cafeteria. There would be nothing left of the majority of these towns.

I agree with that. The reason the schools emerged where they did in the first place was to provide local access to higher education to Pennsylvanians in all corners of the state. That is relevant today and without these schools you would have wide swaths of PA that would be a shadow of their former selves. If it were up to me I would have PA get out in front of the coming changes and form an alliance between the PASSHE schools and the Dept. of Labor and Industry to have all workforce related activities run out of our state schools e.g. job training, workforce development. Develop closer ties with the private sector as a mutually beneficial resource. You can move more community-based things including cultural activities into the physical plant of the universities if there is under capacity and develop them into more of a community center. These things, together with maintaining the university structure, including liberal arts. If I were king of PA that's how I would do it. However, if current trends continue I think that aside from Cheyney, Mansfield and probably Edinboro could be in danger of shutting down.

[shipfbfan12]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

For Cheyney to thrive, survive and remain a valuable institution of higher learning they need to think out of the box and open up new programs other schools wouldn't dare think of. Like a Automotive Technology Degree Program, Retail Management Degree Programs and Culinary Arts Degree Programs along with their current programs or takeaway a degree program they currently offer that probably doesn't have many students enrolled like Marine Biology.

[jrshooter]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

I agree with that. The reason the schools emerged where they did in the first place was to provide local access to higher education to Pennsylvanians in all corners of the state. That is relevant today and without these schools you would have wide swaths of PA that would be a shadow of their former selves. If it were up to me I would have PA get out in front of the coming changes and form an alliance between the PASSHE schools and the Dept. of Labor and Industry to have all workforce related activities run out of our state schools e.g. job training, workforce development. Develop closer ties with the private sector as a mutually beneficial resource. You can move more community-based things including cultural activities into the physical plant of the universities if there is under capacity and develop them into more of a community center. These things, together with maintaining the university structure, including liberal arts. If I were king of PA that's how I would do it. However, if current trends continue I think that aside from Cheyney, Mansfield and probably Edinboro could be in danger of shutting down.

I believe that there's never been enough done to cement the town/college relationship in some of these PSAC communities. The school is going to be healthiest when the townies realize it's in their best interest to support the school.

[ironmaniup]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

I believe that there's never been enough done to cement the town/college relationship in some of these PSAC communities. The school is going to be healthiest when the townies realize it's in their best interest to support the school.

That's true. Its a hard relationship to create, since the students create a bigger crime problem with more drugs and alcohol issues, while the people who work at the Colleges have some of the highest wages in town, the best benefits, and really good working conditions. Some University presidents have liked to throw their weight around as well, while some town council people have been vindictive and backward. Its hard to avoid the natural resentment that can occur. Some politicians and media sources stoke that resentment (thinking Bloom Press here)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

I see it both ways. I lived in Indiana as a student and now live in Indiana as, well, not a student. I had about a 15-year buffer in between. A lot of the 'town folk' have a lot of animosity toward IUP. Students ... I don't think they really care either way. That campus is like a bubble and its own world. The two factions co-exist fairly well. As more and more of the slum college houses have been renovated in to single family homes ... it's helped matters. No street in town that isn't right near campus wants to tolerate 34 drunken idiots on their front porch every Thur-Sat.

As a whole, I think IUP is much, much calmer now than it was in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Philadelphia Street scene is way more mild. Frat Row was dispersed by and large. There's still a fair share of the drunken baboons but it's nothing like it used to be.

Indiana is a weird financial and status climate. There are some awfully wealthy people there between the university, hospital and the two (somewhat) large banks being headquartered in town. Luckily for me, I live there but don't work there so I get to miss out on all the Indiana politics and stuffy social circles.

[HuskyNation24]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

That's true. Its a hard relationship to create, since the students create a bigger crime problem with more drugs and alcohol issues, while the people who work at the Colleges have some of the highest wages in town, the best benefits, and really good working conditions. Some University presidents have liked to throw their weight around as well, while some town council people have been vindictive and backward. Its hard to avoid the natural resentment that can occur. Some politicians and media sources stoke that resentment (thinking Bloom Press here)

Yea, could not agree more... I am a Bloom alum, so I obviously know first hand that the town folks don't really care for the college kids as a whole. (See Party, Block) But they're also well aware of the fact that the college is the reason the town is there in the first place. Without these colleges in these towns, the towns will die, and the local economy will suffer.

Which brings us back to the original point of this thread. The notion that shutting down these schools as a means to increase state government funds is ridiculous. The ramifications of that decision would end up costing the state even more money to fix the problems that creates. Shutting down the state systems will result in a rise in unemployment, a rise in healthcare costs, a rise in poverty, and (as some towns in rural PA are already experiencing) a rise in opioid and drug abuse.

I am no budget expert by any stretch of the imagination, but Harrisburg needs to find a way to raise more funds for the state government and then funnel that money into public education. Both for school districts and PASSHE alike. Should this occur (and please let me know if this is the liberal in me talking) I fully believe some of our other issues would solve themselves in time going forward.

[boatcapt]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The bottom line question that needs to be asked from a macro level is does PA really need 14 state colleges or can they achieve the same objectives with a number less than 14? If the answer is some number less than 14, then the state needs to make some hard decisions on who to cut. From an individual school perspective, each of the current 14 need to be taking dramatic actions right now to trim costs, increase enrolment and become profitable. Programs with low enrolment and high costs need to be cut or defunded...programs that appeal to the "new economy" need to be started and aggressively marketed.

I'd think that there should be four "regional public universities" in PA (lets call them Northwest Penn, Southwest Penn, Northeast Penn and Southeast Penn) with PERHAPS one "satellite campus" for each (but only if the home campus can demonstrate it will be profitable). Focus the state funding that is currently dispersed through 14 very similar universities on the four regional universities and allow them to fund their satellite campus from those funds if they chose.

[IUPNation]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The bottom line question that needs to be asked from a macro level is does PA really need 14 state colleges or can they achieve the same objectives with a number less than 14? If the answer is some number less than 14, then the state needs to make some hard decisions on who to cut. From an individual school perspective, each of the current 14 need to be taking dramatic actions right now to trim costs, increase enrolment and become profitable. Programs with low enrolment and high costs need to be cut or defunded...programs that appeal to the "new economy" need to be started and aggressively marketed.

I'd think that there should be four "regional public universities" in PA (lets call them Northwest Penn, Southwest Penn, Northeast Penn and Southeast Penn) with PERHAPS one "satellite campus" for each (but only if the home campus can demonstrate it will be profitable). Focus the state funding that is currently dispersed through 14 very similar universities on the four regional universities and allow them to fund their satellite campus from those funds if they chose.

IUP was the first of the state colleges to be elevated to university status in 1965 (18 years before the rest of the system was elevated at the same time).

The original legislation that was proposed to elevated Indiana State College to University status was for it to be called The Western Pennsylvania State University. However, there were amendments to it and one of them was to call it Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I'm looking in Ron Juliette's book as to why it was changed...but it doesn't really say why. I am wondering if locals wanted to keep Indiana in the name but that is just speculation. Or maybe somebody at Slimey Pebble got really whiny about it....LOL!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The inevitable nickname of 'West Pen' sounds like a prison.

[BallHawkin]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The inevitable nickname of 'West Pen' sounds like a prison.

It WAS the name of the prison on the north side of pgh. Good idea going with IUP instead of WPU (which also happens to sound bad) jus sayin

[IUPNation]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The inevitable nickname of 'West Pen' sounds like a prison.

HA!!!!

Some do call that school in Centre County State Penn....and there is a state prison literally just north of State College next to the Bud Shuster Porkway.

[Fightingscot82]

Re: All 14 SSHE schools will close in 4 years?

The bottom line question that needs to be asked from a macro level is does PA really need 14 state colleges or can they achieve the same objectives with a number less than 14? If the answer is some number less than 14, then the state needs to make some hard decisions on who to cut. From an individual school perspective, each of the current 14 need to be taking dramatic actions right now to trim costs, increase enrolment and become profitable. Programs with low enrolment and high costs need to be cut or defunded...programs that appeal to the "new economy" need to be started and aggressively marketed.

I'd think that there should be four "regional public universities" in PA (lets call them Northwest Penn, Southwest Penn, Northeast Penn and Southeast Penn) with PERHAPS one "satellite campus" for each (but only if the home campus can demonstrate it will be profitable). Focus the state funding that is currently dispersed through 14 very similar universities on the four regional universities and allow them to fund their satellite campus from those funds if they chose.

The problem with that is that you significantly reduce geographical access. Only half of PASSHE students are the typical full time, 18-22 year old, lived in a dorm college student. So taking education away from the other half who commute reduces the point of the system, which is access.

The state needs to defund Pitt and Penn State branches. The big boys need to stay in their lane.