PASSHE Institutions Merging

[Bart]

I have to be honest with you, Bart. If the Bloomsburg community had cried foul as much as the Lock Haven community did at the time, the merger might have possibly been averted. Who knows? Granted, some Bloom folks did. At the time, from what I recall, many of the Bloom constituents perceived the merger as Bloom absorbing two other, smaller schools and becoming the kingpin of PASSHE in the NE/NC part of the state. A lot of people saw it as making Bloom a bigger and better entity. Right, it hasn't worked out that way. Bloom accepted it to a great extent and, I believe, Hanna pushed it. Lock Haven believed they were getting screwed but it hasn't worked out as bad for them as they imagined.

I don't doubt much of what you write there, except Bloom was already the kingpin of the NE/NC part of the state before the merger and may still be according to current enrollment numbers.
Also, applications for next year are up 22% right now.

[iupgroundhog]

I like to think of myself as a long time supporter of Bloom athletics myself, since 1976.

I go back a long time with Bloom, too. The Huskies are sort of in my DNA. Get this, my 4th great-uncle was one of the founders of Bloom. He started the science and math departments in the 1860's. In 1870, when the then president (they might have called him the principal) left abruptly, my forebear stepped in and saved the school from an untimely demise, although he never assumed the presidency himself. True story. So, yes, you can thank me for your undergraduate education.

[iupgroundhog]

Bloom was better off than most SSHE schools before Covid; they were the 3rd largest school in the system. That and geography were probably why they were picked to help prop up the others.

I like to think of myself as a long time supporter of Bloom athletics myself, since 1976.

I have to be honest with you, Bart. If the Bloomsburg community had cried foul as much as the Lock Haven community did at the time, the merger might have possibly been averted. Who knows? Granted, some Bloom folks did. At the time, from what I recall, many of the Bloom constituents perceived the merger as Bloom absorbing two other, smaller schools and becoming the kingpin of PASSHE in the NE/NC part of the state. A lot of people saw it as making Bloom a bigger and better entity. Right, it hasn't worked out that way. Bloom accepted it to a great extent and, I believe, Hanna pushed it. Lock Haven believed they were getting screwed but it hasn't worked out as bad for them as they imagined.

[Bart]

No they don't report that out. Media in Pittsburgh had to do a FOIA request to get overall campus-level enrollment for this fall:

California - 2,981
Clarion - 2,034
Edinboro - 2,532
Global Online - 3,758

Commonwealth enrollment numbers are broken down by school and available on their website.

[Bart]

You make good points but Bloom was well on its way to a slide when they got pulled into Commonwealth. As far as sports go, the decline started years before Commonwealth. For athletics, don't go by what I say, ask long-time Bloom supporters (e.g. Blue Jay et al).

Bloom was better off than most SSHE schools before Covid; they were the 3rd largest school in the system. That and geography were probably why they were picked to help prop up the others.

I like to think of myself as a long time supporter of Bloom athletics myself, since 1976.

[DawgPound]

That's easier said that done, however. Who is really going to buy up those buildings in remote places like Clarion? California is a dump aside from campus.

It's a mess.

True.... But figure if PASSHE dumps the buildings (fire sale of sorts) .... The operating and maintenance cost is gone. Enrollment at another school could actually climb....and offset some cost. But I'm looking at the solution logically....

[IUPNation]

Have you been to Slippery Rock?

The Death Star Campus is south of 80…off of 79 and close enough to the North Hills burbs to make it attractive enough to students who make poor personal choices. :-)

IUP would be in way worse shape if Indiana was as small as Clymer. The Borough of Indiana is attractive as a place to go to school even with the few incidents of late. I was out in West Chester on Friday night for dinner and you’d thought it was Center City with foot traffic on the streets ..people packing restaurants and bars. It was really nice and students were not the majority but I’m sure they didn’t care and just enjoyed the scene too.

[iupgroundhog]

Have you been to Slippery Rock?

No, but I have slipped on a rock quite a few times.

[Fightingscot82]

Institutions in the bottom third or 3rd of 4 quartiles always overestimate their ability to change because most were able to grow to their current state without much resistance. But a 30% enrollment increase at an urban school without any parking is laughable and dangerous. Our group is the most susceptible to demographic changes - and the demographic changes are going to get us eaten alive by the schools above us on the food chain. Penn State won't scale down their megalith university; they'll just take more students that were our top end applicants. We've already learned that we can't open up our standards any more.

https://triblive.com/news/point-park...-older-adults/

[Fightingscot82]

I think merging three schools together was too much. Clarion and Edinboro are fairly close together as are Lock Haven and Mansfield. Clarion and Mansfield were the weakest links. Edinboro and Lock Haven would have been the control schools. Maybe merging would have been smoother.

The fact is there are too many schools north of 80. It’s too remote and kids from the suburbs generally don’t want to be stuck on a campus where there is nothing around it.

Have you been to Slippery Rock?

[iupgroundhog]

I think merging three schools together was too much. Clarion and Edinboro are fairly close together as are Lock Haven and Mansfield. Clarion and Mansfield were the weakest links. Edinboro and Lock Haven would have been the control schools. Maybe merging would have been smoother.

The fact is there are too many schools north of 80. It’s too remote and kids from the suburbs generally don’t want to be stuck on a campus where there is nothing around it.

Don't forget that the original formal plan was for LH and Mansfield. It made all the sense in the world. Then when Slippery Rock pulled out of the western arrangement Greenstein brought Bloom into the NE merger. That didn't make so much sense.

I think the bottom line for Commonwealth is that it has already happened. Nobody can take it back in time. What helps Commonwealth, in my opinion, is the complementary nature of Bloom and LHU's academic programs, the way all 3 schools are woven into their communities, and the way the triad interfaces with the regional economy. I can't answer whether adding Bloom in was good or bad but it's done and I think Commonwealth has a chance to be a model for these kinds of mergers.

[iupgroundhog]

The loss of degree programs, increased virtual classes, sharing of campus news outlets, identity issues, and more. Bloom's size makes the others look better. Bloom's number is down about -3.71% or 261 students. LHU dropped 244 students or -8.53. Mansfield dropped 480, down -26.77. Yet Bloom gets marked with an 8% drop because of the others. Bloom had a 17% increase in first year students, while Mansfield's first year students dropped 9%, but when everything is averaged under Commonwealth, it doesn't look as bad.

Not to mention Bloom's sports teams have taken a dive under Commonwealth. (funny stuff)

You make good points but Bloom was well on its way to a slide when they got pulled into Commonwealth. As far as sports go, the decline started years before Commonwealth. For athletics, don't go by what I say, ask long-time Bloom supporters (e.g. Blue Jay et al).

[IUPNation]

I don't see how that's much different than what was done.

I think merging three schools together was too much. Clarion and Edinboro are fairly close together as are Lock Haven and Mansfield. Clarion and Mansfield were the weakest links. Edinboro and Lock Haven would have been the control schools. Maybe merging would have been smoother.

The fact is there are too many schools north of 80. It’s too remote and kids from the suburbs generally don’t want to be stuck on a campus where there is nothing around it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

If those are the actual total enrollments, the "My God" is warranted.

It's also becoming clear they are becoming 'athletic colleges'. A huge percentage of the enrollment, based on those numbers, are athletes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Cabrini will close at the end of the school year with an enrollment of ~3, 300. The public schools will go under as tax rolls continue to shrink and the endownments can't sustain the money demands to Jeep the school a float. The smart thing to do would be to sale the campuses and move the students to other PASSHE schools. But that's the smart thing to do and politicians have never followed financial common sense.

That's easier said that done, however. Who is really going to buy up those buildings in remote places like Clarion? California is a dump aside from campus.

It's a mess.