Shapiro’s college plan could be ‘transformational,’ Pa. higher education board chair says

Minutes into Thursday’s State System of Higher Education board meeting, chair Cynthia Shapira summed up in her own view the enormous stakes for public higher education in Pennsylvania: “If we do this right, the new system represents an opportunity to be transformational.”

She was referring to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal two days earlier to boost funding by 15% in next year’s state budget for a unified system of 10 state-owned universities and 15 community colleges in Pennsylvania.

The idea of creating a 25-campus system of two- and four-year schools already has sparked questions, from how the state can rapidly bring two distinct tiers of public higher education under one umbrella to who will ensure two-year campuses are equally represented in the new structure’s decision making.

Then there is the cost to execute the changes, even in a year in which the state anticipates a multibillion-dollar budget surplus.

“Unicorns and rainbows,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, said this week as she panned the spending in the Democratic governor’s address on Tuesday.

But for a state campus system that for decades has ranked near last among 50 states in taxpayer support, the governor’s assertion that it would bring Pennsylvania from 49th to the middle of those states in education subsidies has resonated among education leaders, including the system’s board of governors.

“This new comprehensive system could open so many more opportunities for students through greater collaboration and coordination and ease of entry and continues in the educational journey,’’ Shapira said.

It comes as campus leaders have stressed that 60% of future jobs in the state will require some form of higher education, though not necessarily a four-year degree.

It means reaching nearly half of Pennsylvania’s adults who have no education beyond high school. Getting them into high-demand jobs will help Pennsylvania and its economy “keep the lights on,” said State System Chancellor Daniel Greenstein on Thursday.

“This is not about taking students who would otherwise go to another college or university, whether in this state or another, and putting them in ours. That doesn’t solve the problem,” Greenstein said. “The only way to solve the problem is to get students who otherwise would not attend a post-secondary institution and getting them into and through some form of higher education.”

Shapiro also proposed additional financial aid to limit the tuition and fee costs to Pennsylvanians to attend a state campus to no more than $1,000 a semester. He also proposed tying campus aid to schools’ ability to meet student outcomes that benefit the state.

Other matters

• During Thursday’s meeting, the board also ratified a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the State College and University Professional Association, which represents professionals, among them assistant and associate directors of admissions, financial aid, student activities, residence life and career services.

The pact, which includes step increments, offers general raises of 4% retroactive to last fall, a 2% increase in fall 2024, 1% in fall 2025 and 2% in 2026.

Last month, union and management negotiating a collective bargaining agreement covering 5,000 state university faculty across Pennsylvania reached “an agreement in principle.” Ratification vote dates have not been set.

• Kenneth Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, addressed the board about contract talks with athletic coaches.

He said those coaches are seeking better job security, noting that right now they can be removed for reasons such as wanting someone who better fits the campus athletic culture to simply “We want to go in another direction.”

He said entry-level coaches are below the poverty level for a family for two.

• The board approved plans to transfer ownership of PennWest University’s Venango campus in Oil City to a local group that supports economic development. Enrollment there has fallen from 450 students two decades ago to well under 100.

The move also requires the Legislature’s approval.

• The board approved plans to transfer or sell an unused classroom and office building near PennWest’s California campus.