PASSHE Institutions Merging

[Bart]

He recalled the 1967 marriage of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University to form Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. That painstaking evolution spanned generations and included a new school of management and two separate alumni associations.

http://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvan...wum-story.html

[Fightingscot82]

Indeed. So quality goes down and that hurts retention. Same with a lot of these schools cutting services/technologies to save money. Cutting those things may have let you keep a person or 2 a little longer, but hurts quality, so you probably lose students.

It's kind of a big death spiral. The whole thing is. Even the integration. You basically have to put out all this PR about the schools doing bad financially, and then the unions put out their PR. Some people will not go here because of the bad press from that. And that appears to have played out in Georgia. Just hopefully being able to offer programs in new areas helps.

As far as the plan being right/wrong - It's the hand we're dealt. Can't play all aces if you don't have any aces. The ideal world, the state funding never goes down and chances are these schools cost less and have more students now. It's basic economics. As your price rises, you get less students. Although, even when enrollment was high, I don't know that all the schools were doing great financially. I read an interesting article yesterday about how sometimes you can have more students and do worse financially, depending on efficiency and cost to add a student.

It just sucks. The whole situation. And this isn't only happening in PASSHE. Other schools in the US are doing layoffs. It appears there will just be less higher ed jobs all around. Less professors. Less staff jobs, etc.

Which gets to my last point: Maybe there are just too many schools in Pennsylvania and some need to go out of business? I know it's brutal, but consumers vote with their dollar. And man...if IUP located where they are is struggling this bad - $16 million loss - that should say a lot. It's not like 10 schools in PASSHE are doing good, and a couple doing bad. All but 2-3 are in various stages of trouble. PASSHE is looking out for PASSHE and trying to keep them all going, but that may not be the best thing. I think the problem with that is, so many are doing bad that it's not a matter of shutting down 1-2. They'd need to shut down 5-6 and there is a cost to that. If that cost wasn't there, I think they'd do it.

I actually think the schools are in a much better place than they were 18 months ago. They're not nimble enterprises and can't make quick swings to correct the P&L report. Most employees are union - and the state did a disservice by agreeing to a long timeline for layoffs for these folks that unless a position is vacant, it takes 6 months before that position is off the books. The largest source of revenue (tuition) has been at a steady decline for the last several years but the biggest expense (personnel) hasn't been corrected. After the early retirements, buyouts, and layoffs the personnel expenses are at a much more manageable place than before. I actually think the consolidation plan should be kicked down the road to give the schools an opportunity to figure out this new model. Maybe with some aggressive marketing & recruiting, the leaner expenses, and some creative pricing maybe things can turn around. Should they have sooner? Absolutely. But again, these aren't nimble enterprises. Bringing somebody in with Black Belt Lean Six Sigma certifications isn't going to fix the problems.

[complaint_hopeful]

40% enrollment decline if you go back to the peak in 2010. But the local state legislator is right. When there's decreased demand, you have to make changes. When there's a significant decrease in revenue, you have to significantly cut expenses. I know a few faculty at IUP and an Edinboro professor that I'm still close with received his notice. I feel for them and their situation. But the union will criticize the plan and say that it's the wrong decision - but fail to offer the alternative. It's Catch 22 for senior leadership.

Thanks for pointing out the staff layoff number. That's big because most of these unionized staff are student-facing. They're housing staff, admissions counselors, financial aid counselors, student activities, etc. This isn't fewer accountants, HR benefits managers, or Assistant VP of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Student touch-points are more critical now than ever as the experience becomes way less personal. The staff union, SCUPA, isn't as large or powerful or vocal as the professors union.

Indeed. So quality goes down and that hurts retention. Same with a lot of these schools cutting services/technologies to save money. Cutting those things may have let you keep a person or 2 a little longer, but hurts quality, so you probably lose students.

It's kind of a big death spiral. The whole thing is. Even the integration. You basically have to put out all this PR about the schools doing bad financially, and then the unions put out their PR. Some people will not go here because of the bad press from that. And that appears to have played out in Georgia. Just hopefully being able to offer programs in new areas helps.

As far as the plan being right/wrong - It's the hand we're dealt. Can't play all aces if you don't have any aces. The ideal world, the state funding never goes down and chances are these schools cost less and have more students now. It's basic economics. As your price rises, you get less students. Although, even when enrollment was high, I don't know that all the schools were doing great financially. I read an interesting article yesterday about how sometimes you can have more students and do worse financially, depending on efficiency and cost to add a student.

It just sucks. The whole situation. And this isn't only happening in PASSHE. Other schools in the US are doing layoffs. It appears there will just be less higher ed jobs all around. Less professors. Less staff jobs, etc.

Which gets to my last point: Maybe there are just too many schools in Pennsylvania and some need to go out of business? I know it's brutal, but consumers vote with their dollar. And man...if IUP located where they are is struggling this bad - $16 million loss - that should say a lot. It's not like 10 schools in PASSHE are doing good, and a couple doing bad. All but 2-3 are in various stages of trouble. PASSHE is looking out for PASSHE and trying to keep them all going, but that may not be the best thing. I think the problem with that is, so many are doing bad that it's not a matter of shutting down 1-2. They'd need to shut down 5-6 and there is a cost to that. If that cost wasn't there, I think they'd do it.

[Fightingscot82]

IUP laying off some 100 Faculty and 80 Staff. They're projecting a $16 million budget shortfall. The article also talks about how they're eliminating 5 Fine Arts Programs. Enrollment down 33% over 7 years (from 15,000 students to 10,000.)

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020...arts-programs/

40% enrollment decline if you go back to the peak in 2010. But the local state legislator is right. When there's decreased demand, you have to make changes. When there's a significant decrease in revenue, you have to significantly cut expenses. I know a few faculty at IUP and an Edinboro professor that I'm still close with received his notice. I feel for them and their situation. But the union will criticize the plan and say that it's the wrong decision - but fail to offer the alternative. It's Catch 22 for senior leadership.

Thanks for pointing out the staff layoff number. That's big because most of these unionized staff are student-facing. They're housing staff, admissions counselors, financial aid counselors, student activities, etc. This isn't fewer accountants, HR benefits managers, or Assistant VP of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Student touch-points are more critical now than ever as the experience becomes way less personal. The staff union, SCUPA, isn't as large or powerful or vocal as the professors union.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP laying off some 100 Faculty and 80 Staff. They're projecting a $16 million budget shortfall. The article also talks about how they're eliminating 5 Fine Arts Programs. Enrollment down 33% over 7 years (from 15,000 students to 10,000.)

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020...arts-programs/

Today is the bad one. Those being removed are being notified.

[complaint_hopeful]

IUP laying off some 100 Faculty and 80 Staff. They're projecting a $16 million budget shortfall. The article also talks about how they're eliminating 5 Fine Arts Programs. Enrollment down 33% over 7 years (from 15,000 students to 10,000.)

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020...arts-programs/

[Bart]

Martin said Indiana, where she has spent her career teaching in its Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, is expected to be the hardest hit, with potentially 128 furlough notices going out to individuals in its teaching ranks.

While the numbers of positions to be cut at each the affected universities seems to change as Oct. 30 deadline nears, Martin said the union estimates it could be two faculty positions cut at Cheyney, four at Clarion, 14 at each Lock Haven and Mansfield, 22 at California, and 61 at Edinboro.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/1...on-friday.html

[BADinPA]

Several months ago I commented that much of the discussion is this topic would have little impact on the financial situation in the SSHE. I feel I am an expert in cost reduction and I am beginning to see the essential pain that is required to right the ship. IUP has announced cutting numerous programs that unfortunately will impact students and faculty. As difficult as this is going to be, it is a real start which will be felt across the SSHE. Only West Chester may avoid the draconian measures which are needed.

[Fightingscot82]

Lock Haven president is looking. Just like Edinboro's, he was passed over for the conjoined university.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hacken...four-finalists

[Fightingscot82]

I think people are over stating the desire of current students to want to go to a hometown university. When the PASSHE schools opened, the roadway system was not nearly as evolved as it is now so it was not an easy trek to go from say the area south of Pittsburg to say Indiana PA. Students now can easily travel home every weekend if the choose from almost every "region" in the state. Also have to factor in on-line courses which were growing even before Covid. Heck, with some creative scheduling, it would not be impossible for a student who grew up in the Mon Valley to go to Edinboro and spend four days a week at "home" eating mom and dads groceries and having mom do his or her laundry. Only have to spend an ENTIRE week on campus if there was a kegger going on Friday night!!

Having so many "regional" universities that duplicated curriculum made sense "back in the day." Now, you could really meet the needs of most PA college students with four or maybe five strategically placed universities with enrollment in the 20k range. Take the money that PASSHE currently disburses among the 14 universities and distribute it to five better funded and larger universities.

Financial and geographic access are the #1 drivers of PASSHE enrollment.

I can't find the data to accurately cite, but most students attending PASSHE schools are from within 50-75 miles of campus. So when IUP cuts art programs that doesn't necessarily mean that Edinboro benefits. When Clarion and Edinboro cut music programs, the enrollment in music programs at IUP and Slippery Rock didn't increase.

The only variable that will increase enrollment is reducing cost (increasing the savings from state related branches and regional privates). Reducing locations will reduce enrollment.

[complaint_hopeful]

Yes - And that's a concern I have with the Cal, Clarion, Edinboro triad. It's built around online education. Literally every college in the US now offers online classes thanks to covid. So then, it will become about quality and innovation. I don't know that schools with financial constraints will be able to afford what's needed to innovate.

[boatcapt]

They merged several schools in pairs, one middling school with a nearby healthier school. Nearly all were mid-sized schools with a rural community college. The goals were to reduce administrative costs and create a stronger path for CC students to attend public universities. The results are lackluster. Administration costs are negligible and students aren't continuing at a significantly better rate.

The outlier in many ways was Georgia Southern and Armstrong State. They're about 50 miles apart in the Savannah region. They renamed Armstrong as Georgia Southern - Armstrong and made big campus experience cuts like cutting the entire D2 athletics department. Enrollment is down 20% at the Armstrong campus and there's a growing contingent of alumni and community leaders wanting to undo the pairing.

I think people are over stating the desire of current students to want to go to a hometown university. When the PASSHE schools opened, the roadway system was not nearly as evolved as it is now so it was not an easy trek to go from say the area south of Pittsburg to say Indiana PA. Students now can easily travel home every weekend if the choose from almost every "region" in the state. Also have to factor in on-line courses which were growing even before Covid. Heck, with some creative scheduling, it would not be impossible for a student who grew up in the Mon Valley to go to Edinboro and spend four days a week at "home" eating mom and dads groceries and having mom do his or her laundry. Only have to spend an ENTIRE week on campus if there was a kegger going on Friday night!!

Having so many "regional" universities that duplicated curriculum made sense "back in the day." Now, you could really meet the needs of most PA college students with four or maybe five strategically placed universities with enrollment in the 20k range. Take the money that PASSHE currently disburses among the 14 universities and distribute it to five better funded and larger universities.

[iupgroundhog]

It's not a strategy.

It's not a strategic approach. It's a tactical approach. It's morphed into a tactical approach for the purpose of meeting the financial requirements outlined by the state. Most likely it needs a strategic approach to be successful but it is all oriented towards meeting short-term financial goals.

As a result, what is to come out of it will not be optimal. Maybe not even sensible. Or fair.

[complaint_hopeful]

They merged several schools in pairs, one middling school with a nearby healthier school. Nearly all were mid-sized schools with a rural community college. The goals were to reduce administrative costs and create a stronger path for CC students to attend public universities. The results are lackluster. Administration costs are negligible and students aren't continuing at a significantly better rate.

The outlier in many ways was Georgia Southern and Armstrong State. They're about 50 miles apart in the Savannah region. They renamed Armstrong as Georgia Southern - Armstrong and made big campus experience cuts like cutting the entire D2 athletics department. Enrollment is down 20% at the Armstrong campus and there's a growing contingent of alumni and community leaders wanting to undo the pairing.

Very interesting. It will be interesting to see if Bloom and to a lesser extent Cal U prop these other schools up...or if these other schools lose so much enrollment that it lowers the overall enrollment of the triad.

I also wonder if these triads will get marketed more because they want them to succeed, thus taking enrollment from other state schools. There will be some program overlap with other schools surely.

[Fightingscot82]

Great! I was fairly sure I heard that.

There were some posts above on the Georgia integrations maybe not being as successful as hoped. Would anyone care to share specifics of what they did? Maybe a nice bullet pointed summary of key points?

They merged several schools in pairs, one middling school with a nearby healthier school. Nearly all were mid-sized schools with a rural community college. The goals were to reduce administrative costs and create a stronger path for CC students to attend public universities. The results are lackluster. Administration costs are negligible and students aren't continuing at a significantly better rate.

The outlier in many ways was Georgia Southern and Armstrong State. They're about 50 miles apart in the Savannah region. They renamed Armstrong as Georgia Southern - Armstrong and made big campus experience cuts like cutting the entire D2 athletics department. Enrollment is down 20% at the Armstrong campus and there's a growing contingent of alumni and community leaders wanting to undo the pairing.