PASSHE Institutions Merging

[complaint_hopeful]

Part of that is we're funding two competing systems. But Pennsylvania is a fairly complex state. There are a lot of competing interests for a fairly stagnant tax base. The state budget needs a reset.

Great points all around!

Sometimes I feel like there are just too many colleges in PA. But, then again competitors like SNHU, U of Phoenix, etc. all take a certain amount of students from PA. And then, layer that with tuition rates that are fairly high for a state school because of lower state funding. It's not that cost prohibitive to look at schools in other states and pay out-of-state rates when rates here are so high.

Higher Ed is just such a competitive market. And yes! The state budget definately needs rethought drastically!

[Fightingscot82]

The state funding is the main cause. The schools are among something like the bottom 5 among all states in funding. If they were even average, their finances would be much better. Kinda unfair.

Part of that is we're funding two competing systems. But Pennsylvania is a fairly complex state. There are a lot of competing interests for a fairly stagnant tax base. The state budget needs a reset.

[complaint_hopeful]

Sure thing. It's going to hurt. I don't think enrollment was hurt too much by Covid. I just saw that Edinboro's incoming freshman class lost 39 related to Covid but that retention was above the goal. Just like during the recession last decade, the state appropriation is going to take a big hit.

The state funding is the main cause. The schools are among something like the bottom 5 among all states in funding. If they were even average, their finances would be much better. Kinda unfair.

[complaint_hopeful]

That's about right. Of course originally the Chancellor said he was going to use natural attrition to reduce the faculty sizes, but now with the Covid crisis, he apparently thinks its a great time to do a major reset. There will be some snide remarks around town, but I wonder how Indiana is going to like losing 100 or so high salaries.

It will be interesting. Generally cuts of employees have came from Staff over the years and particularly managers. Managers also go years with raises sometimes.

Although, my guess is mostly adjunct go and they wont refill retired positions...

That said, programs with low enrollment could be in trouble. There are some programs that have classes with like 5 students. Paying a professor $100k a year to teach that class has to lose money.

[Fightingscot82]

That's about right. Of course originally the Chancellor said he was going to use natural attrition to reduce the faculty sizes, but now with the Covid crisis, he apparently thinks its a great time to do a major reset. There will be some snide remarks around town, but I wonder how Indiana is going to like losing 100 or so high salaries.

Sure thing. It's going to hurt. I don't think enrollment was hurt too much by Covid. I just saw that Edinboro's incoming freshman class lost 39 related to Covid but that retention was above the goal. Just like during the recession last decade, the state appropriation is going to take a big hit.

[ironmaniup]

Adjuncts make a much better rate in PASSHE than other schools. But the union contract also prevents schools from eliminating FT faculty then hiring PT faculty to replace them.

Making sense of what I've been told from folks at several schools, 10 of the 14 schools were given a number of faculty positions they have to cut. The cuts get full time professor numbers closer to current enrollment. The number I keep hearing at Edinboro is in the 60s but I don't know if that's just faculty or all positions. The system offered early retirement incentives to all FT employees over a certain age or with so many years worked. I believe the participation was good but probably not enough to make up for revenue losses from Covid.

That's about right. Of course originally the Chancellor said he was going to use natural attrition to reduce the faculty sizes, but now with the Covid crisis, he apparently thinks its a great time to do a major reset. There will be some snide remarks around town, but I wonder how Indiana is going to like losing 100 or so high salaries.

[Fightingscot82]

They also pay Temps and Grad students very little. I wonder if the Union is regretting striking for the higher adjunct wages a few years back ? I'm hearing 10-20% retrenchment on average. that's huge,50 to 100 faculty, depending on things like retirements.

Adjuncts make a much better rate in PASSHE than other schools. But the union contract also prevents schools from eliminating FT faculty then hiring PT faculty to replace them.

Making sense of what I've been told from folks at several schools, 10 of the 14 schools were given a number of faculty positions they have to cut. The cuts get full time professor numbers closer to current enrollment. The number I keep hearing at Edinboro is in the 60s but I don't know if that's just faculty or all positions. The system offered early retirement incentives to all FT employees over a certain age or with so many years worked. I believe the participation was good but probably not enough to make up for revenue losses from Covid.

[ironmaniup]

Talked to some friends who study higher ed & teach graduate level courses on it. Big research universities can manipulate Student:Faculty ratio because they have lots of research faculty who hold full time professorships but teach very little. At these schools they may teach 1 or 2 classes per semester because they're really being paid to land grant money & conduct big research. At PASSHE, professors usually teach 4 classes per semester unless they have an administrative assignment then its still 2 or 3 classes. There are no research faculty in PASSHE.

When talking PASSHE or any other school that isn't truly research intensive, the better metric is average class size.

They also pay Temps and Grad students very little. I wonder if the Union is regretting striking for the higher adjunct wages a few years back ? I'm hearing 10-20% retrenchment on average. that's huge,50 to 100 faculty, depending on things like retirements.

[Fightingscot82]

https://www.lockhaven.com/news/local...-to-cut-costs/

Talked to some friends who study higher ed & teach graduate level courses on it. Big research universities can manipulate Student:Faculty ratio because they have lots of research faculty who hold full time professorships but teach very little. At these schools they may teach 1 or 2 classes per semester because they're really being paid to land grant money & conduct big research. At PASSHE, professors usually teach 4 classes per semester unless they have an administrative assignment then its still 2 or 3 classes. There are no research faculty in PASSHE.

When talking PASSHE or any other school that isn't truly research intensive, the better metric is average class size.

[Bart]

Its looking really brutal, they want to reset to 2010 student /faculty ratio's. It goes by seniority, and by department, so people with 15-20 years experience might be retrenched. its going to get really bitter around October

https://www.lockhaven.com/news/local...-to-cut-costs/

[Fightingscot82]

Seems like there is already a bunch of back end/shared administration going on at a number of the PASSHE schools. If this is the case, I wonder how much additional efficiency (read, cost savings) can be realized?

I imagine some more - but like in WV, the schools aren't strategically placed so geography gets in the way. Administrative functions could surely be consolidated but you still run into issues that are easily prevented with an in person presence, and nobody is going to jump at driving 50-75 miles each way to hold open office hours. The three collaborations right now are unique from the others so to me its three concurrent experiments to see how well it works. The collaborative partner schools are all 60-90 minutes from each other.

[ironmaniup]

There is a major system-wide retrenchment coming. 10 of the 14 schools have informed the faculty union that full-time professor positions will be identified by October 30 to be eliminated on July 1, 2021. Good people will be lost but expenses will be brought closer to expected revenues. I have hope that through pain good comes to the system (especially Edinboro).

Its looking really brutal, they want to reset to 2010 student /faculty ratio's. It goes by seniority, and by department, so people with 15-20 years experience might be retrenched. its going to get really bitter around October

[boatcapt]

Seems like there is already a bunch of back end/shared administration going on at a number of the PASSHE schools. If this is the case, I wonder how much additional efficiency (read, cost savings) can be realized?

[iupgroundhog]

What's really interesting about this plan is that there is no clear end game.

I think the end game is contingent on what happens on each campus enrollment-wise over the next few years.

What hasn't been covered is that for the last few years Kutztown and West Chester have been providing administrative support to other PASSHE campuses most notably West Chester handling some back end administrative positions at Cheyney. The only clarification made by the chancellor is that they're not closing campuses with these moves.

Another thing that hasn't been covered is the assistance IUP has provided to SRU over the last 20 or so years.

I don't know the specific year but when IUP and SRU became "sister institutions" a couple of decades ago IUP faculty basically developed many of the academic programs that are succeeding so well at SRU. Some even better than the corresponding programs at IUP.

In football, every year it's us against them. That hasn't been the case in academics, though.

[Fightingscot82]

What's really interesting about this plan is that there is no clear end game. I have several friends who work at both Edinboro and Slippery Rock and professional contacts at the remaining four universities. My friends at Slippery Rock are under the assumption that they're just helping Edinboro get their footing back while at Edinboro there is a defeated attitude that they're being taken over by SRU. No party has articulated one way or the other. Lots of local commotion that has no more substance than gossip. What hasn't been covered is that for the last few years Kutztown and West Chester have been providing administrative support to other PASSHE campuses most notably West Chester handling some back end administrative positions at Cheyney. The only clarification made by the chancellor is that they're not closing campuses with these moves.

There is a major system-wide retrenchment coming. 10 of the 14 schools have informed the faculty union that full-time professor positions will be identified by October 30 to be eliminated on July 1, 2021. Good people will be lost but expenses will be brought closer to expected revenues. I have hope that through pain good comes to the system (especially Edinboro).