PASSHE Institutions Merging

[iupgroundhog]

Some highlights of the April 15 system BOG agenda:
- Millersville is borrowing $140M+ to buy housing from an auxiliary.
- Mansfield is borrower $7M to stay afloat this year. This means Mansfield is running a big deficit this year and is out of reserves (savings). YIKES

Interesting. Will Mansfield just evolve/devolve into a music academy where you can also study other things, but only online?

[Fightingscot82]

Interesting points. I think we won't know until the presentation to the board just how much of this is the Chancellors/Consultants plan vs how much is the committees.

Looks like this won't be presented to the board until the 28th:
Board of Governors Meeting Information | PA State System of Higher Education (passhe.edu)

Some highlights of the April 15 system BOG agenda:
- Millersville is borrowing $140M+ to buy housing from an auxiliary.
- Mansfield is borrower $7M to stay afloat this year. This means Mansfield is running a big deficit this year and is out of reserves (savings). YIKES

[complaint_hopeful]

https://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-opi...nhy-story.html

Interesting points. I think we won't know until the presentation to the board just how much of this is the Chancellors/Consultants plan vs how much is the committees.

Looks like this won't be presented to the board until the 28th:
Board of Governors Meeting Information | PA State System of Higher Education (passhe.edu)

[Fightingscot82]

https://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-opi...nhy-story.html

[complaint_hopeful]

You've posted this several times. Can you provide the reference so all of us can get angry?

From the current Appropriations request linked to in previous post:

At this funding level, Pennsylvania ranks 48
th of 50 states in terms of educational appropriation per student Full Time Equivalent (FTE), representing a decline from FY 2018, where Pennsylvania was ranked 47th (Figure 19). Additional data from the State
Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) lists Pennsylvania as ranked 47th in net tuition per FTE, spending $3,719 per student less than the 50-state average.

[complaint_hopeful]

So what you meant to say was "PASSHE released a tweet" and not the "state released a report".

Here's the newest PASSHE Appropriations request. In it, they have this:

Economic impact
According to a study conducted by Baker Tilly Virchow
Krause, LLP in 2015, State System universities contributed $4.4 billion in economic impact to Pennsylvania, representing $10.61 for every one dollar of public funds expended on the State System that year.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...=1617841364181

[complaint_hopeful]

You've posted this several times. Can you provide the reference so all of us can get angry?

https://www.thecentersquare.com/penn...1cfd5e8fb.htmlhttps://www.inquirer.com/business/st...-20191127.html

[IUPNation]

You've posted this several times. Can you provide the reference so all of us can get angry?

Does this suit your needs?

https://www.abc27.com/news/local/har...er%20education.

[Horror Child]

To me, that's where this discussion starts and ends. IF the state kept increasing the allocations equivalent to inflation...PASSHE would be thriving. We're 47th in funding! IF you put any of the 46 school systems above us at their 2000 funding numbers, I'd guess A LOT would struggle.

That said, no matter what statistics on ROI PASSHE puts out...I doubt the funding increases enough to help. The Integrations are what is proposed and that's the path I think they'll be pushed down to try to save this. I'd be curious how the ROI was calculated too. Like was it so high because the state contribution as a percentage is so low? Ie where if the state paid more, ROI decreased?

You've posted this several times. Can you provide the reference so all of us can get angry?

[Horror Child]

I assumed the statistics being pushed by PASSHE this week were newer than 2015. If there is a new report, I'm working on finding it.

So what you meant to say was "PASSHE released a tweet" and not the "state released a report".

[IUPNation]

It's doomed. IUP and SRU will use this to their advantage to grow in the West. Perhaps not publicly but certainly in recruiting they will use it as a put-down. Who wants a glorified branch campus? How much smaller can these schools actually get and still keep the lights on?

This all sounds like drawing up a Hail Mary play ... sort of a last-ditch prayer.

Maybe that's the point...slowly kill three schools.

Again...Harrisburg is going about this the wrong way. The problem isn't the system itself. The problem is that the Harrisburg is being ****ty towards funding education thanks to rural Qpublicans who don't want educated people because they wind up voting Democrat...and this State System vs State Related. Why are you funding schools that you don't own? The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not own The Centre County Community College, The Oakland Remedial Academy and Temple. The reform has to be the way Harrisburg funds the schools they own and then find way to save costs. Either the State Related become State Owned Schools or cut the cord. They have 8.0 billion dollars in endowment between the three of them (most of it not Temple's). Who can justify the 400 million a year The Centre County Community College receives from Harrisburg when they have almost 4 billion sitting in their endowment?

Jesus Christ the revenue the Nits bring in for foosball alone could cover Cheyney's operating costs for a year.

Why is there no common sense about this. Stop ****ing protecting state related schools that don't need help and put the ones you own in a better position to educate students who can't or don't want to go in hock for a college education.

[complaint_hopeful]

It's doomed. IUP and SRU will use this to their advantage to grow in the West. Perhaps not publicly but certainly in recruiting they will use it as a put-down. Who wants a glorified branch campus? How much smaller can these schools actually get and still keep the lights on?

This all sounds like drawing up a Hail Mary play ... sort of a last-ditch prayer.

I think the new brand is the biggest dooming factor. Consumers want to buy products they know from companies they trust. The whole disband passhe thing hurt that trust. And a new school has no brand.

I don't know that creating a new school but keeping old names will work. I think they're trying to please everyone, but it will be confusing.

Plus, there will be growing pains I'm sure. Ie Things won't be seamless for years. Hundreds of people are working on these in silos...that tends to lead to fragmentation.

[complaint_hopeful]

It's doomed. IUP and SRU will use this to their advantage to grow in the West. Perhaps not publicly but certainly in recruiting they will use it as a put-down. Who wants a glorified branch campus? How much smaller can these schools actually get and still keep the lights on?

This all sounds like drawing up a Hail Mary play ... sort of a last-ditch prayer.

It's hard to say. I think the Triads want to get their price down too. Until the details are presented, it's so hard to say.

[complaint_hopeful]

Agree on hard truths but I think it's job loss. People working really hard on this will be gone. The budget distribution of 1 budget will hurt too...atleast some schools in this. Mainly the biggest school.

I don't think the plan is to shrink. I think the plan is to grow. Like they think the Triad in the West will become an online powerhouse and grow that way.

Now, will that actually play out is the question? I'm sure when SNHU wanted to grow that it didn't look possible too.

As far as Academics...there will be some classes offered in person on all 3 campuses. It's kind of a mix. Others may be offered at 1 and you do it online.

It's funny because of the pandemic every school has some 'hybrid classes that you can do in person or from home.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think there are some harsh truths that Greenstein can't reveal publicly. The biggest harsh truth that he can't be forthcoming about is that 5 out of 6 of the integrated schools (except Bloomsburg) are going to be smaller than they are (and keep in mind they don't have sufficient enrollment at present).

How will it work. Here's what I think. Recently, I saw something pertaining to the western triad that said 75% of current students are enrolled in a program that exists in all 3 schools. Look, with few exceptions, they evolved to be all the same.

So, if they designate a "home" campus for a program the program is going to gravitate to that campus. If you are not at the home campus does it make any sense to end up taking a majority of your major courses online? In the PASSHE world I don't think it does. In my mind, by natural selection these duplicate programs are going to die off and be eliminated. And because duplication is inefficient, I think that's inevitable. In both triads, enrollment will continue to decline. That's just a continuation of current trends. Why would it be otherwise?

In addition, nobody knows what the impact of the ambiguity of forming the schools into triads will be on applications/enrollment. I think the impact will be negative and contribute to further enrollment declines. Why would it increase? Why would it even stay the same?

I think it's clear that the schools will contract under the triad arrangement. Greenstein can't tell you that. And he's not going to.

Also paramount is the NCAA determination whether to maintain separate athletics programs. Without that, identity retention is a pipe dream.

It's doomed. IUP and SRU will use this to their advantage to grow in the West. Perhaps not publicly but certainly in recruiting they will use it as a put-down. Who wants a glorified branch campus? How much smaller can these schools actually get and still keep the lights on?

This all sounds like drawing up a Hail Mary play ... sort of a last-ditch prayer.