Keep State System healthy and viable
None of the 14 universities in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education has the Big Ten glamour of Penn State University or the Ivy League sheen of the University of Pennsylvania, but they are crucial parts of the commonwealth’s system of educating its residents and readying them for the responsibilities of citizenship and employment.
When the State System was inaugurated 35 years ago, Harrisburg covered 67 percent of its budget. But state contributions to public universities have been tumbling in Pennsylvania and across the country over the last couple of decades, and now it stands at 25 percent, leaving students and parents to pick up more and more of the tab. This saddles many students with debt that will take years to pay off.
Still, with a base tuition of a little more than $7,000, institutions within the State System offer the best bargain for Pennsylvania students, particularly for those who need to work or stay close to home while accumulating credits toward a degree.
However, thanks to the drop-off in state funding and decreasing enrollment, the State System is looking at the possibility of merging or closing some of its campuses. It’s going to be embarking on a four-month study looking at the system and, among other things, whether it has too many campuses, whether the price tag for tuition and other fees dampens enrollment, and if campuses can share resources.
Frank Brogan, the chancellor of the State System, said last week that “it’s only going to get worse” unless changes are made.
Indeed, funding levels have not budged from 1990s levels as a result of the Great Recession and round after round of budget-cutting by the Legislature. And since Pennsylvania has been slowly but steadily losing population for the last couple of decades, particularly in this portion of the commonwealth, this reality has been a blow to State System campuses. Just seven years ago, 120,000 students were enrolled in the system’s 14 campuses, which includes California University of Pennsylvania, along with universities in Edinboro, Indiana, Slippery Rock, Millersville, Bloomsburg, Clarion, Cheyney, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Mansfield, Lock Haven, Shippensburg and West Chester. Now, about 105,000 students are enrolled on these campuses.
Some campuses have fared better than others; the historically black Cheyney campus has seen its enrollment fall by more than 50 percent since the turn of the decade, and it has been subsisting on loans from the State System to keep it going. Meanwhile, West Chester University near Philadelphia increased its enrollment by a little more than 2 percent last fall. It’s probably no wonder that West Chester trustees and friendly lawmakers floated the idea a few years ago that the university should be allowed to secede from the State System.
Closing a campus would require approval from the Legislature, and there is sure to be considerable resistance from lawmakers, students and residents if a campus in their region is targeted. The study the State System is about to undertake is justified. It’s vital that the system remain healthy and viable. But as the study proceeds, officials should remain committed to providing a relatively affordable education for students throughout the state, and making certain campuses are located where they can be reached by students with no other viable option nearby.