PASSHE Institutions Merging

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm curious what the PASSHE schools' retention rates are for enrolled freshmen (i.e. what percent comes back for Year 2, etc.).

It seems to be almost like PSAC football ... they get all excited to sign 27 players and the next year 12 (or more) of them are already gone.

[Ship69]

Yep. Overall community college enrollment is up very slightly this spring - but I call BS because that count includes high school kids doing dual enrollment.

Vermont is in a very similar demographic/enrollment crunch right now. They merged state schools a few years ago and one of those mergers is continuing to fail. Its almost like its not the expenses that are causing the problem, is the inability to attract students.

I know Shippensburg has deals with both Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) and Hagerstown (Md.) Community College in our area to ensure their credits transfer. I believe Millersville is also hooked up with HACC.

[Fightingscot82]

Community colleges failing too.
https://www.pressenterpriseonline.co...koning-is-here

Yep. Overall community college enrollment is up very slightly this spring - but I call BS because that count includes high school kids doing dual enrollment.

Vermont is in a very similar demographic/enrollment crunch right now. They merged state schools a few years ago and one of those mergers is continuing to fail. Its almost like its not the expenses that are causing the problem, is the inability to attract students.

[IUPNation]

Community colleges failing too.
https://www.pressenterpriseonline.co...koning-is-here

I can’t imagine Montco or Delco going belly up anytime soon but smaller ones probably are on shakier ground.

[Bart]

Community colleges failing too.
https://www.pressenterpriseonline.co...koning-is-here

[Ship69]

This sounds somewhat promising

https://www.pennlive.com/education/2...next-year.html

An additional $10 million should be relative chicken feed for a 14-school state university system. Most local K-12 boards have budgets many times that.

[Ship69]

New York Times article touching on small college towns in Pa.and shrinking enrollment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/b...s-economy.html

Gotta love this one letter writer who said students needed to get rid of the "bloated" state universities and attend Penn State or its branch campuses to get a "quality education." What crap. The major problem is the bloated Penn State system, which the divine wisdom of our state legislators allowed to directly compete with our state system. One of my roommates at Ship took summer courses at Penn State and found them easier than the ones he took at Ship. He also got better grades from Penn State.

[Fightingscot82]

This sounds somewhat promising

https://www.pennlive.com/education/2...next-year.html

[IUPNation]

Pitt and Penn State (to a much lesser extent Temple and even lesser extent Lincoln) have such political and social power in this state the general assembly doesn't realize we're funding 2 or 3 competing systems. Our state-run need-based college grant program (PHEAA) actually gives students more money if they attend private schools. How is that even right? Penn State is looking at a $150MM deficit next fiscal year. I think they need to figure it out. Pitt is on a major construction blitz in Oakland: a $255 million student rec center and just announced this week a $240 million mini arena for teams using Fitzgerald Field House. When schools increase their facility footprint, that also increases their expenses on utilities, housekeeping, and maintenance. Then they'll cry poor some more. The number of PASSHE field houses that don't have air conditioning or working hot water would astound the general assembly.

It’s time to cut the cord on state related.

[Fightingscot82]

Article below. Really, the state-related schools' state assistance should be cut in favor of the state-owned schools. It's good to see them receiving some legislative pushback. Their influence in the state budget needs to be thwarted. This is obvious to most of us.

https://therecord-online.com/site/archives/93319

Pitt and Penn State (to a much lesser extent Temple and even lesser extent Lincoln) have such political and social power in this state the general assembly doesn't realize we're funding 2 or 3 competing systems. Our state-run need-based college grant program (PHEAA) actually gives students more money if they attend private schools. How is that even right? Penn State is looking at a $150MM deficit next fiscal year. I think they need to figure it out. Pitt is on a major construction blitz in Oakland: a $255 million student rec center and just announced this week a $240 million mini arena for teams using Fitzgerald Field House. When schools increase their facility footprint, that also increases their expenses on utilities, housekeeping, and maintenance. Then they'll cry poor some more. The number of PASSHE field houses that don't have air conditioning or working hot water would astound the general assembly.

[IUPNation]

Article below. Really, the state-related schools' state assistance should be cut in favor of the state-owned schools. It's good to see them receiving some legislative pushback. Their influence in the state budget needs to be thwarted. This is obvious to most of us.

https://therecord-online.com/site/archives/93319

The Centre County Community College should not get as much as they do.

The line about their endowment money being restricted is bull. They can sit on a mountain of cash but demand more money from Harrisburg and the state system schools get shafted as a result.

[iupgroundhog]

Article below. Really, the state-related schools' state assistance should be cut in favor of the state-owned schools. It's good to see them receiving some legislative pushback. Their influence in the state budget needs to be thwarted. This is obvious to most of us.

https://therecord-online.com/site/archives/93319

[Bart]

New York Times article touching on small college towns in Pa.and shrinking enrollment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/b...s-economy.html

[Fightingscot82]

All well and good but how do you explain with two graduate degrees, 40-plus years of experience in the field and having taught at two local colleges that when I offered to teach a for-credit class at my local high school without compensation and on their schedule that the superintendent said no? The reason he actually told me was - I am not part of the union. I know others with similar credentials and experience that have offered the same and were told "no thanks" also.

I think you answered your own question.

[IUPNation]

I applaud PASSHE for being the first to step up to the plate on this challenge. I would have blown a gasket if we got beat to the punch by Penn State or privates. It won't fix the teacher shortage but it could help. My wife is considering a career pivot to teaching. There is exactly one online program for this in PASSHE and it will cost us about $25,000 total. $1,500 is appreciated but isn't going to move the needle. The state needs loan forgiveness like it has for nurses. Also, its crazy that in 20 years we've gone from an overwhelming surplus of licensed teachers to a deficit.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/ed...s/202302280139

Kind of a no brainer for schools that came into existence to train teachers…