It's a total disaster for the PA state system. In hindsight, they will say mistakes have been made. Sure, you have the demographic factors and trends in higher education. But the point is that PASSHE has lost in relative terms to the other entities. Yes, the PSU expansion into 4 year schools around the state was a killer. PASSHE didn't have the clout to prevent it. Maybe the #1 problem has been lack of state support for public education, including PASSHE, over the last decades. Blame this on Republicans because they are at fault there. My apologies if you are a Republican but that's the truth. The decline of support for PASSHE in Pennsylvania is obscene.
As for IUP losing 30% of its enrollment over an 8 year period, that is painful. Who is responsible for that? Nothing within the structure of PASSHE has worked in IUP's favor. I can say IUP should have placed its needs above the needs of the rest of the system; however, they seemed to be a willing participant in all this.
Few people realize that IUP built many of the programs at SRU the Pittsburgh students have been flocking to. When IUP and SRU became "sister" institutions in the 90's IUP faculty helped SRU develop these programs. That is true and it tilted the scales away from IUP. Also, in Western PA, Armenti at Cal, the crook that he was notwithstanding, raised the profile of Cal by mimicking IUP's model. So, IUP has not been the winner in Western PA. Actually, their recruitment from SEPA has been good and I think WCU's gains are attributable to other factors. It's not like students are choosing WCU over IUP.
So, if this sounds like sour grapes, it is. Losing 30% enrollment over 8 years is no joke. I sure hope they can rebound with some of their new programs.
As for IUP losing 30% of its enrollment over an 8 year period, that is painful. Who is responsible for that? Nothing within the structure of PASSHE has worked in IUP's favor. I can say IUP should have placed its needs above the needs of the rest of the system; however, they seemed to be a willing participant in all this.
Few people realize that IUP built many of the programs at SRU the Pittsburgh students have been flocking to. When IUP and SRU became "sister" institutions in the 90's IUP faculty helped SRU develop these programs. That is true and it tilted the scales away from IUP. Also, in Western PA, Armenti at Cal, the crook that he was notwithstanding, raised the profile of Cal by mimicking IUP's model. So, IUP has not been the winner in Western PA. Actually, their recruitment from SEPA has been good and I think WCU's gains are attributable to other factors. It's not like students are choosing WCU over IUP.
So, if this sounds like sour grapes, it is. Losing 30% enrollment over 8 years is no joke. I sure hope they can rebound with some of their new programs.
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