Cal U. and Clarion integration eyed to cut costs

A plan was put in place Thursday to integrate California University of Pennsylvania and Clarion, and for them to offer fully online undergraduate degrees in the coming years.
The state System of Higher Education’s board of governors unanimously approved the recommendations of Chancellor Daniel Greenstein that would also integrate four other state-owned universities between July 2021 and August 2022.
“We cannot cut our way out of the situation,” Greenstein said.
The plan’s approval authorizes Greenstein to review the financial impacts of integrating the universities, with additional information on the schools due in October.
The state system has been studying ways to reform and consolidate schools while dealing with lower enrollments and funding shortfalls into the millions. The financial losses were further complicated by campus closures in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
State System spokesman David Pidgeon said if the universities continued as is, Cal U.’s reserves would drop to $15.3 million in a few years.
“That is not sustainable,” Pidgeon said.
Cal U. had an enrollment of 6,800 in the fall of 2019, a number that had dropped 27% since it peaked in 2011. The fall enrollment at Cal U. will not be known until September, Pidgeon said.
The proposal approved Thursday would also consolidate Edinboro with Slippery Rock and Lock Haven with Mansfield.
Cal U. President Geraldine M. Jones said her university has been offering online programs for more than 10 years.
“We see this as something that will benefit the students and the system as well,” Jones said during the meeting.
When asked about the fate of the campuses at the schools, Greenstein said, “The answer is, we don’t know.”
Pidgeon said the intent is to maintain on-campus experiences at Cal U. and Clarion.
If given final approval, the integrated schools would have a unified leadership team and a single faculty and staff.
Washington County Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan said it would harm the local economy if Cal U. ends up being an online-only university.
“It’s going to be sad for a lot of folks, for the alumni and that area,” Irey Vaughan said.