PASSHE Institutions Merging

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The downside is that now Pitt and PennState are taking kids with lower SATs , that would have gone to IUP - those 1150 kids who are really hard workers are not going to IUP in droves any more. Then there is the branches that offer the R1 name. But the Science building is long over due, and will definitely help recruiting. The other problem is Science programs are expensive, and rarely make money, its more the ancillary preprofessional programs like premed, pre PT, etc that foot the bill. And IUP's total costs are too high compared to other passhe schools that have already went after easy access to health programs as a selling point.

The current science building was becoming the eyesore of campus, so this is a big improvement. I assume it will come down shortly after this new building is opened.

I've heard the old Foster Dining Hall is getting ready for the wrecking ball. I'll be interested to see what they do with that space. That's a prime spot on campus.

Pitt and PSU dropping admissions standards is not a good thing for our schools. You just have to wonder if eventually Pitt and PSU take over the entire system ... Penn State-Indiana ... Pitt-Slippery Rock, etc.

[ironmaniup]

The plan for the west is that campuses will be picked to host a major. Students at that campus will attend in person, students at others will take it online.

I don't think facilities are a way out of this mess. Otherwise we should have been doing better. IUP *has* to market its value proposition: research university experience at a state college price. It's not a tagline or slogan. If you want an R1 education but can't afford the flagships, IUP is your place. If you want that small campus charm maybe look elsewhere.

The downside is that now Pitt and PennState are taking kids with lower SATs , that would have gone to IUP - those 1150 kids who are really hard workers are not going to IUP in droves any more. Then there is the branches that offer the R1 name. But the Science building is long over due, and will definitely help recruiting. The other problem is Science programs are expensive, and rarely make money, its more the ancillary preprofessional programs like premed, pre PT, etc that foot the bill. And IUP's total costs are too high compared to other passhe schools that have already went after easy access to health programs as a selling point.

[Fightingscot82]

Considering it is still 1957 in some areas of the Commonwealth...it's not all that surprising.

I still think these mergers are a mistake. Bloomsburg is going to be dragged down because of it and I don't think it will really help Lock Haven at all.

The west schools are just too far apart. Oh yeah...you are on the Mon Valley campus but the class you want is only offered at Edinboro this semester. Have fun on your trip up 79.

I just received my IUP Magazine (I'm surprised they are still sending it out) and I believe deep down that the new Science building will pull IUP out of it's downslide. That's really going to be a crown jewel for the school to go along with the new tower they built behind the library. The IUP campus has never been in better shape...kids should be walking around pretty impressed. Now they just need the majors that kids need for employment today.

I really wish IUP could buy the hospital...and have their own medical education maybe partnered with a health system that UPMC hasn't put out of business. I mean it wouldn't be a full blown medical school but maybe it could train Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses for rural health needs. It seems there is a big disconnect out there for health services in rural areas and IUP could be training people who could work in those areas to give medical needs that don't require hospitalization.

The plan for the west is that campuses will be picked to host a major. Students at that campus will attend in person, students at others will take it online.

I don't think facilities are a way out of this mess. Otherwise we should have been doing better. IUP *has* to market its value proposition: research university experience at a state college price. It's not a tagline or slogan. If you want an R1 education but can't afford the flagships, IUP is your place. If you want that small campus charm maybe look elsewhere.

[IUPNation]

They're working on that and there has been progress. The wheels of change are slow though to even get certain deals in place.

Considering it is still 1957 in some areas of the Commonwealth...it's not all that surprising.

I still think these mergers are a mistake. Bloomsburg is going to be dragged down because of it and I don't think it will really help Lock Haven at all.

The west schools are just too far apart. Oh yeah...you are on the Mon Valley campus but the class you want is only offered at Edinboro this semester. Have fun on your trip up 79.

I just received my IUP Magazine (I'm surprised they are still sending it out) and I believe deep down that the new Science building that was featured in the main article will pull IUP out of it's downslide. That's really going to be a crown jewel for the school to go along with the new tower they built behind the library. The IUP campus has never been in better shape...kids should be walking around pretty impressed. Now they just need the majors that kids need for employment today.

I really wish IUP could buy the hospital...and have their own medical education maybe partnered with a health system that UPMC hasn't put out of business. I mean it wouldn't be a full blown medical school but maybe it could train Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses for rural health needs. It seems there is a big disconnect out there for health services in rural areas and IUP could be training people who could work in those areas to give medical needs that don't require hospitalization.

[complaint_hopeful]

To me, that should have been the first step of reform, to get all non educational operating expenses like that well under control, so that each school can benefit from bulk purchasing power by Harrisburg.

You don't need people in Sutton Hall making those deals.

They're working on that and there has been progress. The wheels of change are slow though to even get certain deals in place.

[complaint_hopeful]

Another great point! And there are so many colleges in PA and then you have the major online providers too. These schools don't have a prestigious brand. The state funding makes them have to raise tuition higher too. And the PA demographic is bad.

But, this situation seems to largely be treated like the schools just are terribly managed. I think they could be more efficient in some ways, but a lot of the issues are out of their control.

[complaint_hopeful]

Yes! Pa is 47th in state funding.

I keep saying it, but how many other state systems in the US would struggle if their state funding was cut to pa levels???

[complaint_hopeful]

Initially, the thinking is that the smaller schools are destined to become satellites of the biggest school. The administration is at the biggest school. Obviously, if it ends up that they can only have one athletics program that would be a game-changer.

But it is true that we don't know how decisions will be made. How will the unified admissions program function? That's a big thing. Do applicants apply to a specific campus? Do students get assigned a campus? (When Penn State said 'groundhog, you're going to do 2 years of hard labor in Altoona' I said no thanks.).

How will the marketing and promoting the brand work?

I understand your concerns. Since LHU and MU are the schools with excess capacity will they try to fill in the gap at those schools?

I guess we have to wait until the end of April to find out more.

Interestingly, I just checked. BU has 57 undergrad majors, LHU has 47 and MU has 27. Fields of study overlap to a great extent at Bloom and Lock Haven.

A lot of the How this works...is up in the air...or atleast not public yet.

For Admissions, I've heard it talked about where when you apply you have a Home campus.

Marketing? Probably 1 website with small campus sections.. but 1 Academic program section.

And not only do these decisions need made, but this stuff all needs implemented. Yeah that website needs created. Those programs need designed.

Also, don't be surprised if the NE and West do things differently. Atleast some things.

[IUPNation]

You are right, but the state schools located near population centers seem to be doing alright. Seven years ago a West Chester trustee and Senator said:



As for the merger, Mansfield, Lock Haven, and Bloom will now be one university, as will the western university. They will probably have to support each other as a self-contained unit, and not get any more help from the remaining eight universities. The weak are told to huddle together, while West Chester rakes in the cash.

[Bart]

You are right, but the state schools located near population centers seem to be doing alright. Seven years ago a West Chester trustee and Senator said:



As for the merger, Mansfield, Lock Haven, and Bloom will now be one university, as will the western university. They will probably have to support each other as a self-contained unit, and not get any more help from the remaining eight universities. The weak are told to huddle together, while West Chester rakes in the cash.

[iupgroundhog]

https://www.lockhaven.com/opinion/le...-universities/

Initially, the thinking is that the smaller schools are destined to become satellites of the biggest school. The administration is at the biggest school. Obviously, if it ends up that they can only have one athletics program that would be a game-changer.

But it is true that we don't know how decisions will be made. How will the unified admissions program function? That's a big thing. Do applicants apply to a specific campus? Do students get assigned a campus? (When Penn State said 'groundhog, you're going to do 2 years of hard labor in Altoona' I said no thanks.).

How will the marketing and promoting the brand work?

I understand your concerns. Since LHU and MU are the schools with excess capacity will they try to fill in the gap at those schools?

I guess we have to wait until the end of April to find out more.

Interestingly, I just checked. BU has 57 undergrad majors, LHU has 47 and MU has 27. Fields of study overlap to a great extent at Bloom and Lock Haven.

[IUPNation]

The point is rural public education needs help. They aren't Ivies or Penn State. It's not about going backward, only about maintaining access.

[Bart]

And it went nowhere.

There can be no reform of the state system schools until the reform the way Harrisburg funds higher education. Penn State and Pitt should not get more state money. They cord needs to be cut.

Can anyone give me one reason why Penn State needs hundreds of millions of state money every year? Jesus Mary and Joseph they get more money from their BIG Earnings than Pee Sack schools get from Harrisburg.

Its a joke.

The point is rural public education needs help. They aren't Ivies or Penn State. It's not about going backward, only about maintaining access.

[IUPNation]

Remember West Chester's bid to leave the system?



https://ragingchickenpress.org/2014/...eers-on-stage/

And it went nowhere.

There can be no reform of the state system schools until the reform the way Harrisburg funds higher education. Penn State and Pitt should not get more state money. They cord needs to be cut.

Can anyone give me one reason why Penn State needs hundreds of millions of state money every year? Jesus Mary and Joseph they get more money from their BIG Earnings than Pee Sack schools get from Harrisburg.

Its a joke.

[Bart]

Do the people at Lock Haven.com know that not every Ivy League University is in a city? Dartmouth and Cornell are both in the boonies. They could leave out the rural sneering to make their point that this guy doesn't have a good plan.

Plus...he can't just declare them dissolved and Wolf isn't going to sign off on it.

If anything, it's just bluster on his part to get people in this Commonwealth who are so resistant to change to wake up. To many in the state hang on to the past and it's why this Commonwealth lags behind other states when it shouldn't. The good old days are not coming back. The mill Pop Pop worked at in 1955 is gone. The industry is not coming back. We need people who can vision what a new Pennsylvania looks like without coal and steel having to be propped up in front and center.

Still...instead of saying nonsense like dissolve the system...he should be questioning why Penn State needs more state money than the state system receives for all 14 schools combined?

Penn State is the Number 1 Problem. The University of Pittsburgh is the Number 2 problem.

They don't need that much money. If Penn State cost 40 grand a year...these kids will still go into hock for it just because they want to be part of the crowd on Saturday's in the fall. They have a brand and it sells itself.

Remember West Chester's bid to leave the system?

https://ragingchickenpress.org/2014/...eers-on-stage/