#passhe

Consolidation for six Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities is coming closer day by day, with consolidated universities welcoming students as early as Fall of 2022. While consolidation of the selected universities is supposed to benefit the universities and put the PASSHE system on the right track, the impact of consolidation on morale, faculty, and retirements has proven otherwise. With consolidation less than a year away, I fear the future of PASSHE is looking bleak.

Two years ago, PASSHE universities were wrapping up a regular semester, not knowing that their future contained a pandemic full of zoom, hybrid classes, and a whole new teaching environment. Now, professors are still juggling the challenges of teaching during a pandemic while experiencing concern about how university consolidation will impact their futures. Dr. Chris Hallen, the vice president of APSCUF, shared his personal experience as a professor at Bloomsburg, one of the soon-to-be consolidated universities, during the December 1st Board of Governor's Meeting stating, "My colleagues and I wonder if we are doomed to a lifetime of overload, as retired (or retrenched) faculty are not being replaced, and somehow it makes more sense to pay me over twice what they could pay an adjunct for the same course, "My colleagues and I are wondering whether we are next — next to be retrenched as our department’s enrollments drop below a magical, moving-number target." This insight from Hallen exemplifies what it is like to be a professor on a PASSHE campus on the road to consolidation. Professors are not only experiencing uncertainty about the future but worry that their careers are on the line, all while taking on a larger workload to make up for the decreasing faculty numbers at their universities. With falling morale on campus, PASSHE should evaluate if the steps they are taking on the path to consolidation benefit those it affects or only the system's finances, which can also be questioned- but that is a whole extra blog.

In addition to low morale, retirement is on the rise for faculty members at PASSHE universities, and it appears that consolidation could be partly to blame. In the most recent round of retirement incentives offered to PASSHE employees, almost half of the 165 who signed up were from consolidating universities. By accepting the incentive, the participants will retire by the summer of 2022. The retirement incentive itself is a part of State System Chancellor Greenstein's goal to reduce PASSHE's workforce to 2010-11 levels. Knowing that this effort is in place, faculty may be more willing to retire, not knowing what their future could look like in the system. While the effort is to help maintain system efficiency, the impact on remaining faculty could do more harm than good. APSCUF President Dr. Jamie Martin shared that, "When you are losing senior faculty at that rate, it’s a significant loss not only for students but their junior colleagues.” She emphasized that through loss of senior faculty, “You lose mentors, people that can help you navigate all of the tenure promotion processes. For junior colleagues, you lose all of that.” Even though Greenstein is closer to his goal through retirement incentives, it does not mean that it will positively impact the individuals left on campus who are already stretched thin.  

As more information regarding the consolidation comes out, we hope to see concerns of faculty and students addressed. APSCUF will continue to advocate for the students, faculty, and coaches of the PASSHE system. From the ground level, Dr. Hallen speaks for himself and colleagues, "I’m tired of consolidation, and I’m not alone. And we have barely started with hundreds of issues that need resolution." The lack of morale and rapidly increasing retirements may only be the beginning of the consequences of consolidation.

To learn more about recent consolidation developments, visit APSCUF President Dr. Jamie Martin’s interview with Behind the Headlines: https://www.apscuf.org/martin-discusses-unanswered-consolidation-questions-in-interview/

By Erica Bottjer, APSCUF-KU Intern Fall 2021

Sources Referenced

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/11/faculty-retirements-at-pa-state-universities-are-double-the-number-of-a-typical-year.html

https://www.apscuf.org/see-dr-christopher-hallens-remarks-to-the-bog-dec12021/

Chancellor Dan Greenstein of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) received approval to request the largest appropriation in system history for $550 million during The Board of Governors meeting on October 14th, 2021. The request is a total of $73 million more than was requested from the Commonwealth last year. While the approval from The Board of Governors is just the first step in the process, it demonstrates dedication to keep the state system operating effectively while still recruiting and retaining students. But, this also leads to the question of where the additional funding will go.

According to the PASSHE website, "The $73 million state funding increase will enable the System to continue implementing plans for university integrations that were approved in July; to further invest in the diversity, equity, and inclusion plan approved in April; and support other initiatives while reducing universities’ dependence on additional budget cuts or tuition increases." While the request for a historic state funding increase is large and has drawn scrutiny, it could be vital to students of the state system. The investments that will likely make the most positive monetary impact on students include funds towards the consolidation efforts and efforts towards reducing dependence on tuition increases.

A large sum of the money is to go towards the consolidation efforts, which will begin in 2022. The goal of putting additional funds towards consolidation is to make minimal faculty and program changes, along with ensuring the universities are prepared for opening day. This includes reducing cuts of programs and staff of state-owned universities, which has happened in the past with a non-sufficient budget. With new students enrolling in a brand-new system on the horizon next August, the state system must be adequately prepared to provide what is necessary to set students up for success. This includes the ability to meet with an advisor and select their courses to begin their degree.

There has been increasing concerns about pricing students out of public higher education, allocating some of these funds to prevent a tuition increase is vital Greenstein shared that Pennsylvania currently ranks 46th in funding for state-owned universities, ninth in student cost, and second in average student debt. Even though state universities have frozen tuition prices for the past three years, the total costs for attending colleges in the PASSHE system have increased 62.4% from 2009-10 to 2018-19. Students and their families are struggling to afford even the current tuition, making the approval of funding so crucial for students.

APSCUF President Jamie Martin supports the request for additional funding for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. While she wished the request happened sooner, she shared that “Any investment in our students is a step toward making college more affordable for them.” We hope that the steps towards receiving the historic funding to the state system continue to run smoothly, so students of all PASSHE universities can benefit.

By Erica Bottjer, APSCUF-KU Intern Fall 2021

Sources Referenced

https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylavnia-state-university-state-funding-ask-20211014.html

https://www.penncapital-star.com/education/higher-education-is-a-partnership-pa-state-system-approves-550m-request-to-help-with-redesign/

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/education/2021/10/14/passhe-seeks-550-million-state-appropriation-pennsylvania-legislature-higher-education/8449955002/

https://www.passhe.edu/News/Pages/Releases.aspx?q=2021-10-14-Historic-Funding-Request

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is comprised of 14 universities throughout the state and has hit its lowest enrollment level in decades. PASSHE currently serves over 88,000 students who are pursuing a four-year degree. This means traditionally PASSHE schools serve the largest number of PA college students compared to other Pennsylvania universities. The mission of PASSHE is “To increase educational attainment in the Commonwealth; to prepare students at the undergraduate and graduate levels for professional and personal success in their lives; and to contribute to the economic, social, and cultural development of Pennsylvania’s communities, the Commonwealth, and the nation.” The decreasing enrollment levels throughout the state are a cause for concern. Can PASSHE uphold its mission without being able to attract and satisfy students?

During the PASSHE Board of Governors Meeting on October 13th, it was shared that enrollment has decreased about 5.4% throughout the system. This is a significant jump from only a 2% decline last year, during the peak of the pandemic. PASSHE has lost over 5,000 students within one academic year, bringing the enrollment total to 88,651 students, which was previously at over 93,000. While Kutztown University is fortunate enough to have only seen a drop from 7,892 to 7,675 students enrolled from Fall 2020 to 2021, other state universities saw a more significant change. Bloomsburg experienced a sharp decline from 8,436 students enrolled during the Fall of 2020 to only 7,745 in the Fall of 2021. This lack of students resulted in the lowest enrollment levels in over a decade, even as enrollment in PASSHE has steadily decreased over the past few years.

There is a multitude of reasons that could be the cause of PASSHE’s drop in enrollment, including the COVID-19 pandemic, state funding, and the cost of student tuition. Since PASSHE is unable to control the pandemic, it may be worth evaluating how the system itself is directly driving students away. Dr. Jamie Martin, APSCUF President, highlighted key points about Act 188 of 1982, the cost of student attendance, and the lack of state funding for PASSHE during the Board of Governors Meeting as possible causes for the drop.

Act 188 of 1982 lays out the mission of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education and is as follows, “The State System of Higher Education shall be part of the Commonwealth’s system of higher education. Its purpose shall be to provide high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.”

Currently, Pennsylvania is ranked 47th in the United States for per-capita investment in higher education, leaving students responsible for 75% of their cost to attend state universities. It is important to consider that in 1990, 75% of the cost of student attendance in the PASSHE system was covered by state appropriations. The lack of state funding and increase in tuition prices has resulted in more and more students being unable to attend PASSHE colleges due to a lack of affordability.

Dr. Martin shared during the meeting, “We are at an inflection point, and a very important question must be addressed: Are the universities in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education state-owned and state-supported universities — or not?” As PASSHE continues the road of consolidation for universities in the state system, students are left to wonder if the changes will ultimately benefit them or lead to even further rising costs to attend a PASSHE school, excluding even more Pennsylvanians from access to an affordable 4-year institution.

By Erica Bottjer, APSCUF-KU Intern Fall 2021

Sources Referenced

https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania-state-university-enrollment-drop-pandemic-20211011.html

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2021/10/11/State-System-of-Higher-Education-Pennsylvania-enrollment-2021-Cal-U-Clarion-Edinboro-Daniel-Greenstein-APSCUF/stories/202110110081

https://www.apscuf.org/see-dr-jamie-martins-remarks-to-the-board-of-governors-oct13-2021/

https://www.passhe.edu/About/Pages/About.aspx

On September 22nd, 2021, APSCUF President Dr. Jamie Martin attended the Board of Governor’s meeting to discuss the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education university consolidation. The meeting involved the consideration of approving seven side-letter agreements to APSCUF’s collective bargaining agreement. Side letters #1-6 apply to Bloomsburg, California, Clarion, Edinboro, Lock Haven, and Mansfield Universities. Side letter #7 applies to all universities in the PASSHE system.

Summary of the Side Letters:

Article 6 – Creates a process for the election of new department chairpersons for the integrated universities and identifies work they will perform along with commensurate compensation during the 2021-22 academic year, as well as delegated work for the first year of integration.

Article 12 – Identifies how evaluations will be conducted for various groups of faculty.

Article 15 – Allows existing tenure to transfer to the integrated university. Establishes procedures for the selection of university-wide tenure committees.

Article 16 – Establishes procedures for the selection of university-wide  promotion committees. Faculty applying for promotion will be subjected to promotion policies and procedures from their prior university for the first two years of integration.

Article 31E – Establishes an interim curriculum committee that is comprised of individuals from the existing curriculum committees. Interim curriculum committee will establish processes and procedures to recommend curricular action during the 2021-22 academic year and summer term.

Articles 29 and 34 – Allow for existing faculty at the six universities to     seamlessly move to the respective integrated university with their     existing seniority.

Retrenchments Side Letter – Allows for retrenchments to be deferred to future years     contingent upon adequate funding received from the Commonwealth for this     purpose. Also modifies the Enhanced Sick Leave Payout program from earlier this year to extend the deadline for notices of retirement and increases the payout multiplier in the second window to the higher payout utilized in the first window.

Dr. Jamie Martin encouraged the passing of all side letters and shared, “There remains much uncertainty and anxiety regarding consolidation on these six campuses, among the students (both current and prospective), faculty and staff. This process — coupled with the retrenchments that occurred at four of our campuses last year and the threats of retrenchment this year — has left many feeling defeated, and all of this is happening while faculty struggle to offer face-to-face classes in a safe way amidst the ongoing pandemic. The combination of these things has negatively impacted morale on a number of our universities.”

During the meeting, viewable on YouTube and apscuf.org, all side letters were passed. The Retrenchment Side Letter received the most attention, as faculty payroll and benefits comprise a large part of the PASSHE system’s budget.

The Consolidation of California, Clarion, Edinboro in the West, and Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield in the East has caused students and faculty concern about the future of public higher education in Pennsylvania. With the first group of students set to begin at a consolidated university in August of 2022, we will soon know what the real world consequences of consolidation look like. The Board of Governor’s Meeting has allowed for the alleviation of worry for faculty concerned about losing their position until at least 2024, as APSCUF continues to dedicate itself to advocating for faculty and students.

By Erica Bottjer, APSCUF-KU Intern Fall 2021

Sources Referenced

https://www.bradfordera.com/news/pa-state-universities-faculty-given-job-assurance-ahead-of-consolidation/article_d1d192b5-36d0-55d3-be1e-b811729e73e2.html

https://www.apscuf.org/see-dr-jamie-martins-remarks-to-the-board-of-governors-sept22-2021/?fbclid=IwAR3HH-aQIirlA421dgAvQFVdAY7WhaoQK311UNVMCMN4Z_W21C4OEZTcvxQ

In June of this year, the Senate approved state House Bill No. 2171 which allowed the “14 state universities to create, expand, consolidate, transfer or affiliate an institution or college,” according to PennLive Patriot News. Since then, several of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education schools are now being considered for the integration process. 

In July, Chancellor Dan Greenstein was authorized to begin exploring the integration process for Clarion and California, Lock Haven and Mansfield, and Edinboro and Slippery Rock. His goal was to find combinations of PASSHE schools that would provide positive impacts in educational and financial opportunities should they be merged. Dan Pigeon, a spokesperson for the state system, announced that the combining of Edinboro and Slippery Rock would not cause great enough of an impact to be worth the merger as stated by PennLive. 

Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges & University Faculties (APSCUF) President, Jamie Martin expressed concern for the lack of information regarding the decision about Edinboro and Slippery Rock. Martin said, "I would hope we would be provided some information. The chancellor has talked quite a bit about working collaboratively to solve problems. It’s hard to work collaboratively if you are out of the loop.” All universities that are under consideration for the integration process must first go through a three month financial analysis. The decision not to join Edinboro and Slippery Rock is most likely due to there not being large enough of a financial impact to either university. 

There have since been announcements that Clarion University, California University, and Edinboro University are joining together to create one school while preserving the distinct, individual campuses of the three universities. Their goal is to provide a greater educational opportunity to the students and communities they serve in the surrounding areas. By joining together, schools are also able to create a larger online presence through a wider variety of online classes. “The goal of university integrations is to expand opportunities for students beyond those a single school can achieve on its own. We’ve been clear since the start – the data and analysis will ultimately drive us toward the right combination of universities,” Greenstein said, according to PennLive Patriot News.

Recently, Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University, and Mansfield University announced that they are looking into integration as stated by EducationDive. The combination of the three universities would create one of the largest public universities in eastern PA. This integration would be contingent on there being enough of a financial impact on the three universities. 

Pennsylvania is not the first state to make the move to combine their public universities. In 2012, the University System of Georgia made the proposal to take 8 of their schools and combine them into 4 universities according to Eric Kelderman of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Many presidents of these universities were worried about combining together the missions of two individual universities but were optimistic about the wider variety of bachelor degrees and areas of study that would be available to their students. In Georgia’s case, many of the personnel cuts were in administrative areas. The increase in financial opportunity for the universities was poured back into educational opportunities for students. 

What does this mean for Kutztown? Many of the public schools in PA rely on student tuition. Since 2010, Kutztown’s enrollment has dropped significantly. KU, along with many of the other PASSHE schools, is expecting a further drop in enrollment in the coming years, warranting the analysis of whether integrating with another school would make a positive financial and educational impact. Although many PASSHE schools are looking into combining with each other to form larger universities, KU, currently, is not. President Hawkinson has stated that although many schools are beginning the review for integration, there is not yet data to prove that this is the best thing to do for the university. According to the Morning Call, however, President Hawkinson stated that all possible mergers within the PASSHE system have the goal of bettering the education and opportunities for the students and community that the universities serve.

-Fiona O’Toole, APSCUF-KU Fall 2020 Intern

Works Consulted:

https://www.chronicle.com/article/what-happens-when-2-colleges-become-one/

https://www.chronicle.com/article/georgias-college-merger-plan-sidesteps-political-pitfalls/

https://www.theslateonline.com/article/2020/09/passhe-begins-school-integrations

https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-pa-future-of-passhe-schools-20170301-story.html

Student Power Wins: A Student’s Perspective on July’s PASSHE Board of Governors Meeting

On July 10, the PASSHE Board of Governors (BOG) and the Presidents of the 14 Pennsylvania State Universities met at Dixon University Center in Harrisburg to discuss the progress on a variety of projects before the start of the 2019-2020 academic year. By far, the most impactful and difficult decision to be made at the BOG meeting was whether or not to raise tuition rates at PASSHE schools for the…

On Thursday, November 1st, Dr. Daniel Greenstein, the newly elected PASSHE Chancellor came to Kutztown University. Greenstein did an open forum where he talked about his goals for the PASSHE system as well as answered any questions that educators, students, and the public were concerned about.

Greenstein comes to PASSHE at a time when massive cuts are being made on higher education. Student debt in Pennsylvania is also at an all time high, being the state with the highest amount across the nation.

The opening speech was hopeful. Greenstein read emails from the public.  “They are super intense. They carry so much emotion, intensity, and passion.” says Greenstein. “These are flat out inspiring. And I believe from these emails from the faculty, students, and staff, that we are willing to attack our problems head on.”

Greenstein’s beginning speech to the open forum focused heavily on the importance of solidarity and where reform is needed the most in the PASSHE system. “We know that there are populations that we need to serve, that are underserved. Adult learners, students of color, single working parents. They need us too.” says Greenstein.

Greenstein was appointed as the 5th PASSHE Chancellor assuming his position on September 4th. Prior, Greenstein served as a director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit organization heavily focused on the growth of public education.

His visit to KU is an important one. Within the last 8 years, PASSHE schools including Kutztown University have seen a decline in enrollment. The PASSHE schools are tuition dependent. The dip in enrollment can be blamed on rising tuition and cost of living on campus.

Greenstein has urged state schools to change their business strategy. During his open forum, he mentioned how some state schools are excelling in the realm of online higher education. He urged the faculty and public at Kutztown to get on board with supplementing enrollment with affordable online education, hopefully giving access to a wider range of students.