Rumors are the state intends to close one down and combine operations. I'm out-of-state. What are younz hearing?
Edinboro and Slippery Rock
- Thread starter Cosmos
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I had not heard that. The state schools are suffering with significant enrollment drops. The only school with a year-over-year increase was West Chester.
The state schools are owned and operated by the State of Pennsylvania, so it would seem to be well within the State's purview to do whatever. Closing any of them is going to be a political bloodbath, regardless of whether or not it may be the correct move to make.
The entire model of a great mass of schools offering residential undergraduate education is up for grabs. The cost structure is simply unsustainable, and if something cannot go on forever, it doesn't.
EDIT - After looking at @fairgambit link above, at least the powers-that-be recognize something has to give. IUP and California will be fine. Slippy Rock, Edinboro and Clarion could easily be rationalized. I would say the same could be considered for Lock Haven and Mansfield. Bloom, Kutztown, Millersville and WCU should be fine, but if I were East Stroudsburg I would be worried.
Most people here know I have my MS from IUP, so I suppose I do have a dog in the fight.
The state schools are owned and operated by the State of Pennsylvania, so it would seem to be well within the State's purview to do whatever. Closing any of them is going to be a political bloodbath, regardless of whether or not it may be the correct move to make.
The entire model of a great mass of schools offering residential undergraduate education is up for grabs. The cost structure is simply unsustainable, and if something cannot go on forever, it doesn't.
EDIT - After looking at @fairgambit link above, at least the powers-that-be recognize something has to give. IUP and California will be fine. Slippy Rock, Edinboro and Clarion could easily be rationalized. I would say the same could be considered for Lock Haven and Mansfield. Bloom, Kutztown, Millersville and WCU should be fine, but if I were East Stroudsburg I would be worried.
Most people here know I have my MS from IUP, so I suppose I do have a dog in the fight.
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Losing the university would be a death knell for Clarion. It's about all that is left there after the glass plant shut its doors several years ago.
WCU looked to leave the State system to become another state-related university a few years ago, feeling they were being dragged down by the rest of the schools that weren't doing well. Admittance there has actually gotten somewhat competitive.
WCU looked to leave the State system to become another state-related university a few years ago, feeling they were being dragged down by the rest of the schools that weren't doing well. Admittance there has actually gotten somewhat competitive.
IUP replaced all of their 60's era dorms with new student housing with all the bells and whistles through a private financing deal. The university leased the land to a private foundation that was made up of investors who financed the construction. The student's boarding fees go to the foundation for a period of X years. The university/state gets new buildings with minimal investment and the foundation gets a return on their investment. In theory, a win-win.
Fall Saturdays just wouldn't be the same without the Slippery Rock football scores being announced. 
PASSHE schools aren't the only ones having trouble. The future of many Penn State branch campuses looks pretty bleak.
These schools have been a drain on families for a decade or more, for the most part. The path to send your kid to college at any cost is now kaput. Sending your child to college for an art degree, history degree (without getting a JD later), and many other degrees is....well, you might as well just send your kid to summer camp for four years.
I sit and work with my 12 year old and wonder who the F is coming up with these curriculums. Are these people 87 years old???
She spends hours on finding things like what indigenous native american ate in this region in the 1400's. What? Who the F cares? At the same time, "computer" is a one hour class taught a couple of times a week.
Kids need to learn the basics, check. After that, they need to know how to navigate resources and find answers. If I want to learn about the "string theory", for example, I can spend a day searching and reading. I no longer need to carve through the library of congress hoping to find a 600 page book or take a two semester class.
The world has changed. Education is in a shambles and there is a hard rain coming. Technology...Engineering, Math....these are the keys to the future. STEM. If you aren't guiding your kids through these courses and making sure they get a college education in a marketable skill you're making a huge mistake.
I sit and work with my 12 year old and wonder who the F is coming up with these curriculums. Are these people 87 years old???
She spends hours on finding things like what indigenous native american ate in this region in the 1400's. What? Who the F cares? At the same time, "computer" is a one hour class taught a couple of times a week.
Kids need to learn the basics, check. After that, they need to know how to navigate resources and find answers. If I want to learn about the "string theory", for example, I can spend a day searching and reading. I no longer need to carve through the library of congress hoping to find a 600 page book or take a two semester class.
The world has changed. Education is in a shambles and there is a hard rain coming. Technology...Engineering, Math....these are the keys to the future. STEM. If you aren't guiding your kids through these courses and making sure they get a college education in a marketable skill you're making a huge mistake.
And the students get screwed with required minimum stays and the exorbitant costs associated with them. We so love our children.
Too many kids in college, many of whom simply don't belong, so they have to create course work and degrees for them so they can keep the student loans flowing.
Exactly, and it's only getting worse. What's more important in today's world? Knowing about obscure Middle Ages history or knowing how to find resources to fix software/hardware? It's a shame that the education system refuses to catch up.
Another great point. There's a lot of kids who go to college just because that's what mommy/daddy told them to do. I unfortunately see more of this as time marches on.
No one at PSU seems to be particularly concerned about lowering costs. Barron has all of these "plans to address time to degree" and such, but it's really moving nowhere. The BOT, and its illustrious student loan magnate, continue to do nothing.
I was poised to agree with you, but you just couldn't finish the thought without knocking down that straw man.
I remember going to Slimey Pebble for some science fair or similar in high school. All I remember was the campus was on a hill and depressing.
I remember being on the Clarion campus for something. Not impressed with it either, but it was better than Slimey Pebble.
I remember being on the Clarion campus for something. Not impressed with it either, but it was better than Slimey Pebble.
Well then....I'm very sorry to hear that you're another sheep who is supportive of Mr. Lord, who has done nothing of substance during his time on the board.
Yup. He's done so much nothing that Lubert put him on the executive committee.
These state universities originated with the purpose of providing blue color working families with the opportunity to provide their children with a college degree at a reasonable cost. It was also believed these graduates would stay in state and provide a pipeline of talent to many corporations etc. from within the state. Unfortunately when manufacturing went south, both literally and figuratively, and the down stream ramifications resulted in many moving out of state to take white color jobs with better career futures, pay etc.
It was a noble idea and provided many with a college degree and it worked to some degree, however the demographics etc. of the state have changed thus the current situation.
It was a noble idea and provided many with a college degree and it worked to some degree, however the demographics etc. of the state have changed thus the current situation.
Fall Saturdays just wouldn't be the same without the Slippery Rock football scores being announced.
Slippery Rock has even played games at the Big House.
Kind of a narrow-minded view, is it not? The value of some of these degrees you speak ill of is the fact that they teach you to think, not just to do. Engineering, math, science, computer science, etc. -- all massively important. But when you can pair that kind of training with an understanding of the liberal arts you're just all the more well-rounded and prepared to succeed. I admit I am biased, as I work in higher-ed, but I see it on campus every day -- the kids who make an effort to work across the disciplines are almost always the better for it.
Don't think artistic/design sensibilities are important? Well, where would Apple be without design? Or Tesla? Heck, talk to people working in health care today and they'll tell you about the massive importance of hospital design, device design, etc.
And sorry, I happen to believe the world would be a much better place if more people had majored in history. Or at least had some modest understanding of that fact that we are as prone as all in history to make the same mistakes that have been made for ages before us.
Don't think artistic/design sensibilities are important? Well, where would Apple be without design? Or Tesla? Heck, talk to people working in health care today and they'll tell you about the massive importance of hospital design, device design, etc.
And sorry, I happen to believe the world would be a much better place if more people had majored in history. Or at least had some modest understanding of that fact that we are as prone as all in history to make the same mistakes that have been made for ages before us.
Nope...those degrees are called "recreation" today. The world has changed. We no longer can teach our kids to "have fun", it is a world market and we need to compete against China, India and more.
They actually started as "Normal" schools, or teachers colleges, intended to train teachers. That's why they are geographically scattered across the state -- to serve local school districts. In the early '80's they went from being " _____ State College" to " _______ University of PA" and expanded their missions and course offerings. Although they are all owned by the state (PASSHE), each university has it's own president, BOT, Admissions Dept, IT services etc. --- a lot of mouths to feed (or pigs at the trough -- take your pick). I would think the state might try to consolidate the admin functions as an alternate to shutting down campuses.
The ones that I have heard, from a reliable source, are most in danger of PASSHE shutting down are Mansfield, Clarion, Edinboro, and Cheyney. Cheyney would actually be merged into West Chester. Cheyney only has 700 students and their students can already take courses at West Chester and West Chester facilities people already handle all maintenance and physical plant work on the Cheyney campus. Ones in least danger are West Chester, Slippery Rock, and East Stroudsburg. Those three have shown the largest gains in enrollment and student interest over last decade as a percentage of total student body.
Very true. But Apple isn't hiring from Slippery Rock (no slight intended) -- more like RIT, Ringling (not the circus) or Parsons.
Can't see Cheyney being shut down, being the nation's oldest HBCU. That would create a giant political s&*# storm.
With the pool of college age students stagnant or decreasing, the cost of private college rising and college loans increasingly difficult to pay off, it's also hard to see a future for small private colleges lacking large endowments, unless they merge or offer high demand technical training, like computer coding.
Interesting. Well first off there's no such thing as a 'win-win' in capitalism. I base it on the premise that natural resources are finite and we're fighting over them. But to the point, I wish I could've gotten in on that financing deal. As you allude it's guaranteed income for X years. Thank you.
What does that make him? King Turd of Shit Mountain? One slime ball getting put on the executive committee by another slime ball isn't something to be viewed as an accomplishment.
Lord has done NOTHING.
I'm sorry, but a man who built a company (and personally) that profited heavily from the status quo of high cost higher education should not be on the BOT of our university. It's sad to see so many sheeple blindly follow him because the name Joe Paterno comes out of his mouth every now & then.
^^^ Here! I'm living proof. Seems to me PA could best be served by shutting some of these "teachers colleges" and going the vocational route.
Meh, to a degree. Ten years ago they were in real trouble. They still have a lot to do to make their grad programs feasible. They've righted the ship somewhat thanks to high enrollments numbers (though not last year). The outgoing president was a big brick and mortar guy and built often sometimes to the possible detriment of other things. Bloom also has a consistent commuter enrollment that they can count on every year from Wyoming Valley and places that are actually increasing in population (Such as Hazelton).
PASSHE was a great model for a long time in terms of making education geographically and financially accessible but in many instances it just doesn't work in places where the population is shifting and declining. Small colleges have a real challenge going forward to making education viable and creating programs that can compete in the marketplace. With the rise in online and distance options and some of the flexibility some of the bigger schools are starting to offer it just makes for an uphill battle going forward.
I agree to disagree. That's why so many kids these days can't name a country from a map. Pretty scary stuff when they've a responsibility to vote, don't ya think. Now in a totalitarian regime being well-rounded might not matter so much. You are pigeon-holed to serve the state within your expertise.
OK, fair enough....but I don't think those kids that "can't name a country from a map" are kids going to college....
And what does any of this have to do with the original post?
About as much as you taking issue with an Al Lord comment.
But, keep on keeping on. Albie's doing a great job!
I concede this point. Which of us made the initial non sequitur reference to Lord again?
Interesting. I hope some consideration is given to geographics as well. If Edinboro and Clarion are being considered for closure, what would be the options for kids in NWPA who have reasons for wanting to attend school somewhere which is relatively close to home?? The state's fourth largest city would be under served regarding public higher education. Maybe with Boro and Clarion it'll be an either/or situation. If that's the case Clarion should be worried since Edinboro is located better to serve Erie.
