Pennsylvania state universities move forward with merger study, as IUP aims at its own restructuring plan
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A process that could integrate or merge six struggling state-owned universities into two “academic powerhouses” has cleared its first hurdle.
The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education on Wednesday approved launching the second step in a study that could result in California, Clarion and Edinboro universities merging operations into a single unit in Western Pennsylvania along with Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities in the state’s Northern Tier.
“We are seizing an opportunity to rise up together,” PASSHE Chancellor Dan Greenstein told the oversight board for the 14 state-owned universities. He said the proposed mergers would allow the schools to maintain their individual identities, be more cost efficient, benefit students and provide opportunities for growth.
Other universities in the system, created in 1982, include: Cheyney, East Stroudsburg, Indiana, Kutztown, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.
The next phase of the two-year redesign study of the six targeted campuses comes as officials at Indiana University of Pennsylvania announced structural changes at the school where enrollment declined from 15,126 in 2010 to 10,067 this fall.
University President Michael Driscoll said IUP will combine its College of Humanities and Social Sciences, with an enrollment of 1,095 students, and the 415 students in the College of Fine Arts into a single college. Along with merged departments, some programs will be eliminated, Driscoll said. Although the faculty union has been notified of possible furloughs, with a deadline of Oct. 31 for notification, Driscoll said specifics have yet to be determined.
He stressed that students in any affected majors will be given an opportunity to complete their studies.
Plans call for IUP to focus on science, math, computer science, pre-engineering and engineering, allied health disciplines, behavioral health and business in an effort to meet student and work force demands and build a stable platform for the future, Driscoll said.
Wednesday’s vote to move forward with additional study and planning for the merger of the six universities followed a financial review that suggested those schools could offer students and adult learners more opportunities and reduce operating costs if they joined forces.
The system itself has been under growing pressure for a decade as overall enrollment at its 14 universities declined from 119,513 to 93,708 this fall.
In Western Pennsylvania, California saw enrollment decline by 27%, Clarion dropped 39% and Edinboro decreased 50%. In the Northern Tier, enrollment declined by 16% at Bloomsburg, 42% at Lock Haven and 47% at Mansfield.
The system oversight board approved the first phase of the merger study in July, two weeks after Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 50, a bill that created a template for PASSHE to “create, expand, consolidate, transfer or affiliate” institutions with fewer than 10,000 students. The law also prohibited closing any campuses, most of which are the largest employer in their towns.
Officials initially proposed looking into merging the six schools into three operating units, each consisting of two universities. Ultimately they settled on two units with three schools to achieve greater efficiencies, Greenstein said.
“The biggest takeaway for me is this is an opportunity for growth and to redefine what public higher education looks like in this part of the world,” Greenstein said.
Officials did not release the details of the financial review, calling it “highly technical.” But they said it suggested the proposed mergers would provide an opportunity for the schools to replenish financial reserves, operate in the green and continue their mission of providing affordable higher education across the state.
Greenstein insisted the proposed mergers would allow the universities to retain their individual identities. Under the proposed merger, each campus in an integrated unit would be able to offer students an expanded menu of studies. He pointed to Cal U’s mechatronics technology engineering degree, and said, under the plan envisioned in the merger, the highly sought-after major would be available across the three separate universities. Likewise, students at Cal U would have access to programs at Clarion and Edinboro not currently offered at their campus.
He said the growth and strength of online programs that can be shared across the universities will benefit new high school graduates as well as the growing pool of Pennsylvania adults who need to update their skills for changing workforce needs.
Over the last decade, public colleges and universities in Wisconsin, Georgia and Texas have all gone through controversial mergers.
“We’re not alone and there are some great lessons, hard lessons, there to be learned,” Greenstein said.
Next in the process is a detailed planning phase to be presented to the board in April. The completion of that portion of the study would trigger a 60-day public comment period, including two public meetings. The board then could approve or reject the plan.
Officials hope to get a vote by July. If approved, the new operating units be in place for the fall 2022 semester.
The proposed changes are just the latest evolution for a group of universities, most of which began operations as two-year teacher prep academies more than 100 years ago, then blossomed into state teacher colleges and later general colleges before reaching university status in the latter part of the 20th century.