PASSHE Institutions Merging

[Fightingscot82]

I'm not sure what the point is here. This account, if authentic and not fictional, seems to be anecdotal to me. There's no doubt in my mind that students in rural PA don't always benefit from good HS career counseling. But how many kids with a 1310 SAT enroll at Gettysburg College, one of the top (and most expensive) liberal arts schools in the country, drop out and struggle in a community college? I will tell you. Not many. That's an unusual scenario. If true, it seems like he blew a fabulous opportunity at Gettysburg. Maybe he just couldn't handle it. But he is going to get a lot of support at Gettysburg. If he was completely computer-oriented, as suggested, then he made a mistake going to Gettysburg and he should have stayed home and gone to Lehigh. Or some other place focused on technology and/or science.

As it applies to the Commonwealth triad, though, they are prepared to take in similar cases and make it work. That student was in that part of the state. So, I agree that there is an opportunity for PASSHE. Commonwealth seems to be looking in that direction as much as any of the schools.

(His mom taking a "second job" isn't going to help that much to put him through Gettysburg. It might even hurt.)

My point was here's a Pennsylvania student who could use a low-cost accessible program. Granted, PASSHE doesn't have a campus immediately adjacent to Bethlehem especially if transportation is an issue, but if he's in that small of a rural school, its likely he's close to ESU or Kutztown. But since he's doing Western Governors, he's looking at online and PASSHE should be able to undercut WGU. Yes, WGU will be able to sell online better because they are online, but they're still one of "those online schools" and not one more likely to have alumni doing the hiring in his region. From my perspective WGU's academic quality is similar to that of most fully online or online-intensive schools like SNHU or Liberty - really inconsistent. They don't pay as well as most brick and mortar, especially PASSHE, so they're mostly getting scraps or those who need to teach fully remote.

Most students leave college due to money issues. A much higher percentage leave private schools for money. So its a valid assumption especially given the part about mom taking a second job. Also safe to assume he is first-generation (I read the book but don't recall) and in my experience first generation kids and their parents are so lost about college that they often don't even know who to ask for help. I have seen way too many make the mistake that attending a private college is automatically more prestigious than a public school as well as make huge miscalculations on their plan to pay for school. Like you said - if mom's second job increased her income too much, he could lose federal aid moving his goal post. And again, if money is an issue, may be why Lehigh isn't a part of the story arc.

My larger point is that PASSHE is not good at marketing itself, as are the individual schools. The bulk of the population knows us as education schools, thirteenth grade, or low grade party schools for us common folk. The quality and breadth of the academic programs is relatively unknown. The cost difference is also unknown because nobody wants to be known as the "cheap" school as if it diminishes its quality. Once again, Aldi & Trader Joes vs. Giant, Giant Eagle, & Wegmans.

[iupgroundhog]

An interesting anecdote from a national author I follow who covers colleges and universities. His last book was about the college admissions process at selective schools. He recently gave an update on the students he featured in that book.



PASSHE really missing an opportunity here.

I'm not sure what the point is here. This account, if authentic and not fictional, seems to be anecdotal to me. There's no doubt in my mind that students in rural PA don't always benefit from good HS career counseling. But how many kids with a 1310 SAT enroll at Gettysburg College, one of the top (and most expensive) liberal arts schools in the country, drop out and struggle in a community college? I will tell you. Not many. That's an unusual scenario. If true, it seems like he blew a fabulous opportunity at Gettysburg. Maybe he just couldn't handle it. But he is going to get a lot of support at Gettysburg. If he was completely computer-oriented, as suggested, then he made a mistake going to Gettysburg and he should have stayed home and gone to Lehigh. Or some other place focused on technology and/or science.

As it applies to the Commonwealth triad, though, they are prepared to take in similar cases and make it work. That student was in that part of the state. So, I agree that there is an opportunity for PASSHE. Commonwealth seems to be looking in that direction as much as any of the schools.

(His mom taking a "second job" isn't going to help that much to put him through Gettysburg. It might even hurt.)

[Fightingscot82]

An interesting anecdote from a national author I follow who covers colleges and universities. His last book was about the college admissions process at selective schools. He recently gave an update on the students he featured in that book.

Of the three, I kept in touch with Chris the most because he grew up about an hour from where I did in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He was also the one I was most worried about completing college because of how his search unfolded.

Chris went to a rural high school and graduated with fewer than 100 students. Only 30% went directly on to college. His mom had to find a second job to afford Gettysburg, even though it was giving him a boatload of financial aid to attract someone with his scholastic record—a 1310 on the SAT and A average.

When I caught up with Chris recently he had just ended his shift at Walmart, where he works in the vision center. I knew he had left Gettysburg after his first year. A liberal-arts college wasn’t a good fit for someone who just wanted to focus on learning computers. “The cost was just too much for what I was getting,” he told me.

What happened next is way too common of a story for low-income students, like Chris, who after high school lack any sort of counseling support that they might have had in their initial college search.

After Gettysburg, he enrolled at his local two-year college, Lehigh Carbon Community College, for a degree in computer security. But the road to completing that credential has been long and bumpy. He works two jobs—the second at a manufacturing plant in nearby Bethlehem—so finding time to fit in classes is difficult.

After his first year at a community college, he hoped to accelerate his timeline by enrolling in an online program at Purdue Global using education benefits from Walmart. But Chris discovered right before the start of classes that he wasn’t eligible. So he had to take a semester off instead. In the fall of 2022, he enrolled in the local branch campus of Penn State thinking the scheduling would be better. It wasn’t.

Now he’s back at Lehigh Carbon Community College with plans to graduate in May—five years after he finished high school. Because all of his credits won't "count" toward his degree, in the end, he will have paid for 110 credits—10 short of what normally constitutes a bachelor’s degree—for a two-year associate’s degree. Chris still wants a bachelor’s degree and is looking to enroll at Western Governors University. “I just need to find a place that will take my credits, won’t take me forever, or cost me a lot,” he said.

PASSHE really missing an opportunity here.

[IUPNation]

I'm also glad our students got to take these trips.....they make our schools more attractive.

It's not like the Blue Bands does anything other than Centre County Community College home games.....

They won't even show up at Allentown.

[Bart]

I asked someone at Commonwealth and it was described as Mansfield got the invitation before integration then was able to negotiate that the bands from the other campuses could participate. This person suspected it helped because not enough students from Mansfield were able to afford the trip. Unsure if that's accurate but it makes sense if true. It looks like they're wearing Mansfield gear though.

"Sixty-nine performers will travel to London, along with four staff members: 47 students from the Mansfield campus, six students from the Lock Haven campus, 10 students from the Bloomsburg campus and six Mansfield alumni." https://www.lockhaven.com/news/commu...rip-to-london/

[IUPNation]

They are much better now than several years ago. Baby steps.

I really wish they could find the budget to travel to a couple away games each year. It is a huge help to the visiting team.

Cal's band comes here every game. Hard to believe they have the money yet they come. We aren't talking massive bus trips.

Here's hoping the new director talks to Doc often....

IUP should be in these parades like they used to be.....1987 Constitution Celebration in Philly...Paris...Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. WTF happened?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm sure Doc had a nice budget to go to Paris.

I will never forgive Dr. Crimson Abomination for destroying the IUP Marching Band.

They are much better now than several years ago. Baby steps.

I really wish they could find the budget to travel to a couple away games each year. It is a huge help to the visiting team.

Cal's band comes here every game. Hard to believe they have the money yet they come. We aren't talking massive bus trips.

[IUPNation]

I can imagine what it costs to send a full band to Pasadena or London. Not chump change.

I'm sure Doc had a nice budget to go to Paris.

I will never forgive Dr. Crimson Abomination for destroying the IUP Marching Band.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

West Chester at the Rose Bowl Parade with a Philadelphia Theme.....

I can imagine what it costs to send a full band to Pasadena or London. Not chump change.

[IUPNation]

West Chester at the Rose Bowl Parade with a Philadelphia Theme.....

I'm not too impressed with the band front uniforms...looks too much like Hand Maidens.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Mansfield is in deep trouble. I think athletics will be the least of the problems there.

Athletics are probably the reason the lights are still on.

[iupgroundhog]

Mansfield is in deep trouble. I think athletics will be the least of the problems there.

Probably. I was thinking more about Bloom and Lock Haven.

[Ship69]

That sounds realistic. I'm glad to see somebody else is digesting this because to me it's really significant. Not to belabor the point but I'm referring to the branding. Branding = Identity. It's very significant.

Also, I didn't google every student but I think all but the Catawissa student are LH students, yet it is still a contingent from Commonwealth University. Just shows how things are evolving there (and there and there).

Like most interested parties, I think, I hope that the unification doesn't become the norm in athletics.

Mansfield is in deep trouble. I think athletics will be the least of the problems there.

[IUPNation]

How did I miss them? I was watching. I was in the 1996 Rose Bowl parade. Great game - Arizona State & Ohio State back when it was still Pac 10 and Big Ten.

Check my Facebook feed..I posted two videos of it. I’ll see if it’s up in YouTube. later..can post it on here.

They were impressive marching on the route and their props were on point.

[iupgroundhog]

I asked someone at Commonwealth and it was described as Mansfield got the invitation before integration then was able to negotiate that the bands from the other campuses could participate. This person suspected it helped because not enough students from Mansfield were able to afford the trip. Unsure if that's accurate but it makes sense if true. It looks like they're wearing Mansfield gear though.

That sounds realistic. I'm glad to see somebody else is digesting this because to me it's really significant. Not to belabor the point but I'm referring to the branding. Branding = Identity. It's very significant.

Also, I didn't google every student but I think all but the Catawissa student are LH students, yet it is still a contingent from Commonwealth University. Just shows how things are evolving there (and there and there).

Like most interested parties, I think, I hope that the unification doesn't become the norm in athletics.