PASSHE Institutions Merging

[boatcapt]

It's likely a death spiral that's going to see some colleges go out of business. It almost has to happen. Not sure if any will be PASSHE, but some will.

We have too many colleges in PA and the student volume is decreasing.

Interestingly, a lot of colleges are responding to this by increasing prices...which is crazy!

Death Spiral is a good description. To get out of such a spiral, you need to rely on your insturments (data) and take appropriate actions based solely on them. Relying on your gut will only make things worse and speed the rate of spiral and ultimate death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7t4IR-3mSo

PASSHE "insturments" tells you that there is excess capacity and a declining student age population base. You need to make decisions based solely on that and not your "gut feel."

[Fightingscot82]

Wait, what? I thought this was about "collaboration".

I believed it at first then realized what it really is. And privates are becoming more transparent about their struggles. This is an industry wide issue now.

[Horror Child]

Unfortunately correct. Very few traditional colleges in PA have gone under in recent years. Some for-profits have flamed out but most have been trade schools or seminaries. The most traditional college closure I can think of is Alliance College in Cambridge Springs (10 miles south of Edinboro). That campus, which was already a repurposed Victorian resort, is now a state prison.

A lot of these schools were able to pay for increased amenities and services and payroll with increased enrollment. I don't know if the toothpaste can go back in the tube on those. Students expect nice things and the services they need even if they don't need them at that moment. Employees expect decent pay and benefits, especially since Covid.

I think we'll see more mergers like the PASSHE ones or the "Jefferson" merger in the east. The UoS and St. Joe's merger is still being ironed out last I saw.

Wait, what? I thought this was about "collaboration".

[Horror Child]

Bloomberg article about many different private colleges & universities in Pennsylvania with a short mention of PASSHE (and Kutztown).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...nomic-reality?

The trouble stems from simple demographics.

U.S. high-school graduates are expected to dip nationally. In Pennsylvania, it's already happening

Who can have seen this coming, except anyone with access to state birth rates?

[complaint_hopeful]

Unfortunately correct. Very few traditional colleges in PA have gone under in recent years. Some for-profits have flamed out but most have been trade schools or seminaries. The most traditional college closure I can think of is Alliance College in Cambridge Springs (10 miles south of Edinboro). That campus, which was already a repurposed Victorian resort, is now a state prison.

A lot of these schools were able to pay for increased amenities and services and payroll with increased enrollment. I don't know if the toothpaste can go back in the tube on those. Students expect nice things and the services they need even if they don't need them at that moment. Employees expect decent pay and benefits, especially since Covid.

I think we'll see more mergers like the PASSHE ones or the "Jefferson" merger in the east. The UoS and St. Joe's merger is still being ironed out last I saw.

Yep. And as we're seeing in our Triads...it costs A LOT of money to merge schools. A LOT. Depending on how they account for it, I'm not sure the Triads will actually save money. Now, they may do something crazy like not count the covid relief or 1-time money from the state in the costs...then it would look positive.

But, if you do actual dollars spend vs actual dollars saved...I'm skeptical.

[IUPNation]

Unfortunately correct. Very few traditional colleges in PA have gone under in recent years. Some for-profits have flamed out but most have been trade schools or seminaries. The most traditional college closure I can think of is Alliance College in Cambridge Springs (10 miles south of Edinboro). That campus, which was already a repurposed Victorian resort, is now a state prison.

A lot of these schools were able to pay for increased amenities and services and payroll with increased enrollment. I don't know if the toothpaste can go back in the tube on those. Students expect nice things and the services they need even if they don't need them at that moment. Employees expect decent pay and benefits, especially since Covid.

I think we'll see more mergers like the PASSHE ones or the "Jefferson" merger in the east. The UoS and St. Joe's merger is still being ironed out last I saw.

[Fightingscot82]

It's likely a death spiral that's going to see some colleges go out of business. It almost has to happen. Not sure if any will be PASSHE, but some will.

We have too many colleges in PA and the student volume is decreasing.

Interestingly, a lot of colleges are responding to this by increasing prices...which is crazy!

Unfortunately correct. Very few traditional colleges in PA have gone under in recent years. Some for-profits have flamed out but most have been trade schools or seminaries. The most traditional college closure I can think of is Alliance College in Cambridge Springs (10 miles south of Edinboro). That campus, which was already a repurposed Victorian resort, is now a state prison.

A lot of these schools were able to pay for increased amenities and services and payroll with increased enrollment. I don't know if the toothpaste can go back in the tube on those. Students expect nice things and the services they need even if they don't need them at that moment. Employees expect decent pay and benefits, especially since Covid.

I think we'll see more mergers like the PASSHE ones or the "Jefferson" merger in the east. The UoS and St. Joe's merger is still being ironed out last I saw.

[complaint_hopeful]

Bloomberg article about many different private colleges & universities in Pennsylvania with a short mention of PASSHE (and Kutztown).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...nomic-reality?

It's likely a death spiral that's going to see some colleges go out of business. It almost has to happen. Not sure if any will be PASSHE, but some will.

We have too many colleges in PA and the student volume is decreasing.

Interestingly, a lot of colleges are responding to this by increasing prices...which is crazy!

[Fightingscot82]

Bloomberg article about many different private colleges & universities in Pennsylvania with a short mention of PASSHE (and Kutztown).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...nomic-reality?

[Fightingscot82]

Unrelated to D2 but Allegheny is re-joining the Presidents' Athletic Conference (effective July '22).

That will give the PAC 11 members. Wonder if a school in Greensburg could make it an even 12?

Allegheny is in cost-cutting mode. They just laid off a few dozen. This is about travel costs. Probably also a recruiting advantage. Parents can see Tommy play against CMU, Geneva, W&J, etc. rather than travel to Wooster, Denison, etc.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Unrelated to D2 but Allegheny is re-joining the Presidents' Athletic Conference (effective July '22).

That will give the PAC 11 members. Wonder if a school in Greensburg could make it an even 12?

[IUPNation]

I stayed every summer up here. Loved it in the summer. Classes were easy. Campus was chill (and friendlier). I remember that was the early days of the computer labs with internet. They all had AC.

[IUPNation]

I think you guys are showing us what generations you're from. In my day nobody concerned themselves with any of this, as Nation has pointed out in such eloquent fashion.

HA!

[IUPNation]

Thank you for the visuals in this post. Going to watch anything by Stanley Kubrick to cleanse my brain.

[Ram040506]

There are some that blame the parenting style of Gen X...ie helicopter parents for doing everything for their kids and creating 20-somethings that can't do things for themselves.

Bingo...