PASSHE Institutions Merging

[iupgroundhog]

The governor is going to announce a proposal to merge PASSHE and the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, which represents the 15 state-funded community colleges in the state. If this gains any momentum, it will take some time to process. PASSHE's ten schools are state-owned and operated. The community colleges are state-funded but not state-owned and their funding models are all different. Many get annual county appropriations, some get school district funding, etc. But I agree that these two entities should be working together, not in exclusivity.

Who or what owns the community colleges? They're just independent non-profit entities?

[Fightingscot82]

The governor is going to announce a proposal to merge PASSHE and the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, which represents the 15 state-funded community colleges in the state. If this gains any momentum, it will take some time to process. PASSHE's ten schools are state-owned and operated. The community colleges are state-funded but not state-owned and their funding models are all different. Many get annual county appropriations, some get school district funding, etc. But I agree that these two entities should be working together, not in exclusivity.

[IUPNation]

PASSHE is gifting Clarion's Venango campus in Oil City to a regional entity. According to the story this will save PennWest approximately $1.6 million a year in operating costs plus remove about $6 million in planned renovation needs.

https://www.exploreclarion.com/2024/...oogle_vignette

Soon they’ll gift the main campus to somebody else…

[iupgroundhog]

PASSHE is gifting Clarion's Venango campus in Oil City to a regional entity. According to the story this will save PennWest approximately $1.6 million a year in operating costs plus remove about $6 million in planned renovation needs.

https://www.exploreclarion.com/2024/...oogle_vignette

I think we all overlooked the potential 'give it away' scenarios.

[Fightingscot82]

PASSHE is gifting Clarion's Venango campus in Oil City to a regional entity. According to the story this will save PennWest approximately $1.6 million a year in operating costs plus remove about $6 million in planned renovation needs.

https://www.exploreclarion.com/2024/...oogle_vignette

[IUPNation]

Stay tuned. Unsure if anything specific to the osteopathic school is included, but a BIG announcement from Josh coming in the next few weeks.

It’s a taxpayer investment to provide services to taxpayers in underserved areas. Who can be against that? Rhetorical question…

[Fightingscot82]

You’d think the state could fund it. Come on Josh..do the right thing.

Stay tuned. Unsure if anything specific to the osteopathic school is included, but a BIG announcement from Josh coming in the next few weeks.

[IUPNation]

$500k from the IUP Alumni Association to help kickstart the osteopathic medicine school.

https://triblive.com/local/regional/...llege-project/

You’d think the state could fund it. Come on Josh..do the right thing.

[Fightingscot82]

$500k from the IUP Alumni Association to help kickstart the osteopathic medicine school.

https://triblive.com/local/regional/...llege-project/

[Fightingscot82]

Lake Erie College is having trouble paying its bond debt.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/...epay-bond-debt

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It depends a lot on where the courses are going. Just because you get credits doesn't mean it makes you earn your degree any faster. PASSHE schools have a very large general education course load. Probably too much. So its likely to match well at a PASSHE school as long as the community college courses are fairly general or are offered at the new school. For example, when I was at RMU, there were only 18 credits of general education so transfer credits would be awarded but didn't count much toward the degree. Even at a PASSHE school, changing your major after your sophomore year to something unrelated will add at least two semesters. A transfer could have 60 credits but only 12 count toward their degree depending on the flexibility of the general education requirements. A lot of programs have replaced free electives with for-credit internships and similar capstone experiences.

The other challenge is that while credits transfer or are at least awarded, many schools have policies that so many credits must be earned at that school to be awarded a degree. That's the first thing I think of when I see athletes attending 3, 4, or 5 schools or transferring late in their program.

The number or those transfers who actually get handed a diploma would probably make you vomit.

[Fightingscot82]

OK, but then why mention that transferring credits is a problem if it isn't a problem? Community colleges and four-year institutions in our area are probably more in sync than they have been for years.

It depends a lot on where the courses are going. Just because you get credits doesn't mean it makes you earn your degree any faster. PASSHE schools have a very large general education course load. Probably too much. So its likely to match well at a PASSHE school as long as the community college courses are fairly general or are offered at the new school. For example, when I was at RMU, there were only 18 credits of general education so transfer credits would be awarded but didn't count much toward the degree. Even at a PASSHE school, changing your major after your sophomore year to something unrelated will add at least two semesters. A transfer could have 60 credits but only 12 count toward their degree depending on the flexibility of the general education requirements. A lot of programs have replaced free electives with for-credit internships and similar capstone experiences.

The other challenge is that while credits transfer or are at least awarded, many schools have policies that so many credits must be earned at that school to be awarded a degree. That's the first thing I think of when I see athletes attending 3, 4, or 5 schools or transferring late in their program.

[iupgroundhog]

VERY common. They're so common and almost universal that I don't understand why they make a deal out of them at all. Essentially just means that you guarantee credits transfer so it may not count toward a specific class but Ship will still count it toward 120.

Usually, there is a de facto transferability of all CC credits into state schools, so long as the field of study is compatible. However, when the schools make a formal arrangement it becomes institutionalized. There is a stated, written plan which, I believe, facilitates the process for both the school and the student. Also, the relationship is going to be marketed.

[Ship69]

VERY common. They're so common and almost universal that I don't understand why they make a deal out of them at all. Essentially just means that you guarantee credits transfer so it may not count toward a specific class but Ship will still count it toward 120.

OK, but then why mention that transferring credits is a problem if it isn't a problem? Community colleges and four-year institutions in our area are probably more in sync than they have been for years.

[iupgroundhog]

Another sign of our state's demographics and this current generation being less interested in humanities and liberal arts.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/...egree-programs

Higher education is an ever-changing environment, that's for sure. Who knows how it will all shake out? One thing is obvious, though, and that's that a status quo approach is not going to work for any higher ed institution. We'll understand it more in, like, 5 years.