Penn State faculty fear the school will close campuses across the state

[doctornick]

This is a real threat and why we should NOT be paying 700 plus million for an unneeded stadium renovation, 3 plus million for a coordinator and other general wastes of money that occur in the athletic department. The excess supporting these examples of waste should be steered back into the University to support actual student athletes, not football players.

The Athletic department at Penn State operates in the black (at least according to what the publicly report, though I know some like to accuse them of cooking the books).

I Went Through Penn State's 2023-24 Athletics Financial Report So You Don't Have To

Here's how much money Penn State made in 2023-24.

stuffsomerssays.com

Whether or not the stadium renovations makes sense - personally, I think the concept is fine but they are spending way too much on it - depends on how much it can be covered by donations and increased revenues that the AD has. Ideally, the Athletic Department won't be taking from the general fund of the school and I'm under the impression that it does not do so.

 

[diontechristmas]

The reality of our state is that solid population growth happens in the southeast quadrant of the state and decline happens everywhere else. Western PA is in a lot of trouble with populations falling off the cliff. I’ve said this before, but it’s pathetic that the Allentown and Reading school districts are not much smaller than the Pittsburgh school district in student population size. That demonstrates the dynamic.

It’s really wild that Pittsburgh Public schools only have around 18k students. The city population has of course decreased but still has over 300k people. Lots of older folks with grown kids, young folks without kids in the city and a lot of school age children in charter and Catholic schools.

Cincinnati has basically the same population and double the public school population. Cleveland has about 80k more people more than double the student population.

 

[bcspsu]

It’s really wild that Pittsburgh Public schools only have around 18k students. The city population has of course decreased but still has over 300k people. Lots of older folks with grown kids, young folks without kids in the city and a lot of school age children in charter and Catholic schools.

Cincinnati has basically the same population and double the public school population. Cleveland has about 80k more people more than double the student population.

There are many, many Catholic schools in the Pittsburgh area, including in the city, that give City residents an option; I would bet that the Pittsburgh area has more Catholic schools than almost any other city and region just based on population. I was a City resident back in the 70s and 80s and attended Catholic grade school beginning in the third grade and Bishop Canevin High School, which is in the City. In the Western PA region, you have the following Catholic high schools: Central, Bishop Canevin, Seton Lasalle, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, North Catholic, Serra Catholic, Oakland Catholic, and I believe that there a few others. That's a lot for our population.

Also, several City schools, including high schools, have closed in recent years. Finally, charter schools are increasing in the Pittsburgh area, like Nazereth Prep and Montour Propel, in which many City residents are attending.

 

[voltz99]

Yep, tuition as well as R&B invlation has been mind boggling over the last 25+ years.

I was fortunate that my two childless aunts gave each of my brothers and I $1k each towards college, so incluiding that I had $5k when I went off to PSU main campus in the Fall of 1977 and working summers put myself through 4 years without taking a single loan. Those days are done, but the faculty fears do nothing and they might want to instead consider that their lavish pay, benefits, and pensions, along with out of control building programs over the last 20 years, are the real culprets and reversing some of those costs and programs are the only real way to get back to the PSU we used to know. And that won't happen until the leadership of PSU is cleared out for a restart. Trump will be available in 2029 so lets start recruiting him now to get him to come and Make PSU Great Again!!!

A big part of the room and board cost problem is on the students. They didnt want to live in dorm rooms. They wanted suites with private baths and single bedrooms. That chit costs money. Today they have on campus suites with granite counters.

 

[Wallace Breen]

The main reason why PSU's campus has all of those pretty new buildings, and continues to build more pretty buildings, is because of the football program.

You have no idea what you are talking about. The MAIN reason? Really? Is football the reason the Field Hockey Team self funded their stadium? How about the new engineering building on west campus? Here is a hint, football is irrelevant. Penn State athletics should be operating at a baseline for expenditures and remitting all money's above that baseline back to the University because without the University, there is no football. The tail does not wag the dog at Penn State like it does at Ohio State or Alabama. We are better than that.

 

[voltz99]

There are many, many Catholic schools in the Pittsburgh area, including in the city, that give City residents an option; I would bet that the Pittsburgh area has more Catholic schools than almost any other city and region just based on population. I was a City resident back in the 70s and 80s and attended Catholic grade school beginning in the third grade and Bishop Canevin High School, which is in the City. In the Western PA region, you have the following Catholic high schools: Central, Bishop Canevin, Seton Lasalle, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, North Catholic, Serra Catholic, Oakland Catholic, and I believe that there a few others. That's a lot for our population.

Also, several City schools, including high schools, have closed in recent years. Finally, charter schools are increasing in the Pittsburgh area, like Nazereth Prep and Montour Propel, in which many City residents are attending.

Liberals have ignored school violence which has destroyed the urban schools. In Philly in 1950 the city had 2.1 million residents. The country has more than doubled and Philly is now down to 1.6 million residents. In 1950 the city has 0 school cops and 0 metal detectors/cameras in schools. Today the city has 650 fulltime school cops at a cost of about $100 million. In 1950 there were 42 public high schools. Today with charters the city probably has over 100 high schools. Population is down in the city but the number of high schools has more than doubled???? Strawberry mansion was built for over 2000 students and they only have about 150 students today. It costs a lot more money to maintain all the extra schools even though there are less students.

Hoodienomics is a failure.

 

[voltz99]

You have no idea what you are talking about. The MAIN reason? Really? Is football the reason the Field Hockey Team self funded their stadium? How about the new engineering building on west campus? Here is a hint, football is irrelevant. Penn State athletics should be operating at a baseline for expenditures and remitting all money's above that baseline back to the University because without the University, there is no football. The tail does not wag the dog at Penn State like it does at Ohio State or Alabama. We are better than that.

How did the field hockey team self fund? Probably draw 200 fans a game.

 

[bcspsu]

You have no idea what you are talking about. The MAIN reason? Really? Is football the reason the Field Hockey Team self funded their stadium? How about the new engineering building on west campus? Here is a hint, football is irrelevant. Penn State athletics should be operating at a baseline for expenditures and remitting all money's above that baseline back to the University because without the University, there is no football. The tail does not wag the dog at Penn State like it does at Ohio State or Alabama. We are better than that.

No, PSU isn't. If it weren't for the football program, PSU still would be close to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, which was its original name. Take a look at aerial photos of PSU in the various decades of the 20th and 21st centuries, and you can see that the growth of the campus is directly related to the Paterno era.

 

[PSU4U]

I have news for you; PSU's main campus would be in a lot of financial jeopardy if it weren't for all of the revenue that the football program brings into the coffers, not only of the university but of the region. And you can say that for most of the big time football programs.

The main reason why PSU's campus has all of those pretty new buildings, and continues to build more pretty buildings, is because of the football program.

It amazes me how some people are so cloistered in thought they completely fail to understand the relationship. It seems to be a failing of the Acedemic side. I think they see themselves above and apart from sports revenue. As I said in another post had it not been for football Paterno and what collegiate football has become PS might still be a Cow College of sorts. I don't mean that as in insult just that the university would not have soared to its current status/heights apart from it. Like it or not PS Football is the national face of the university.

 

[bcspsu]

It amazes me how some people are so cloistered in thought they completely fail to understand the relationship. It seems to be a failing of the Acedemic side. I think they see themselves above and apart from sports revenue. As I said in another post had it not been for football Paterno and what collegiate football has become PS might still be a Cow College of sorts. I don't mean that as in insult just that the university would not have soared to its current status/heights apart from it. Like it or not PS Football is the national face of the university.

Yes, that simply cannot be denied, and you can say the same thing about many other schools like Oklahoma, Nebraska, Florida State, which used to be a female school, VPI, etc.

 

[GSPMax]

Joe Paterno and PSU football put PSU on the map, academically and athletically. Coach Cael says thank you. As well as coaches Rose and Portland. It is now the time for men's b-ball to step up, and woman's b-ball to return. And let's not forget about gymnastics and fencing teams.
There is a reason why the Paterno's have a library and a faith center named after them.

 

[Wallace Breen]

Joe Paterno and PSU football put PSU on the map, academically and athletically. Coach Cael says thank you. As well as coaches Rose and Portland. It is now the time for men's b-ball to step up, and woman's b-ball to return. And let's not forget about gymnastics and fencing teams.
There is a reason why the Paterno's have a library and a faith center named after them.

Penn State has been on the academic maps for decades. Joe emphasized it but it was already there.

 

[LMTLION]

It’s really wild that Pittsburgh Public schools only have around 18k students. The city population has of course decreased but still has over 300k people. Lots of older folks with grown kids, young folks without kids in the city and a lot of school age children in charter and Catholic schools.

Cincinnati has basically the same population and double the public school population. Cleveland has about 80k more people more than double the student population.

The Allentown sd has nearly 17k students with a population of 122k in the city, Reading has over 17k students with a population under 100k in the city. Parkland SD, one of several suburban Allentown school districts, has a population of nearly 10k students itself. These are examples how many more students there are in eastern PA. And there are plenty of Catholic school kids as well in these regions out here in the east. The population is declining and graying dramatically in western Pennsylvania. Back to the original point, yes, they should be dropping state school campuses, and particularly in western Pennsylvania with such limited population out there.

 

[Zouavelion5]

Out of state tuition is $40,000 a year. Add in my daughter's rent and living expenses, we're over 55k/yr. That's a disgrace. If I had another child to put through college,
child, she wouldn't be going to Penn State.

My sister lives in Virgina and her son is a freshman at University Park and her daughter may go their as well. I just don't think it's worth the cost. Both of us were there in the mid 90's. The cost now is just ridiculous

 

[doctornick]

My sister lives in Virgina and her son is a freshman at University Park and her daughter may go their as well. I just don't think it's worth the cost. Both of us were there in the mid 90's. The cost now is just ridiculous

Colleges in general aren't worth the costs. Either go to a public school in state or find a private school that gives tons of merit aid. Or be of low enough means and attend a "meets needs" school that will cover your costs with needs based aid.

Outside of those options, college is prohibitively expensive. Any out of state school - including Penn State but certainly not limited to there - costs too much.

I don't know why someone who lives in Virginia would go out of state though. They have so many quality in state options that I would stay in state (if you can't get into UVA or William & Mary then Virginia Tech or James Madison) just for cost reasons alone

 

[GSPMax]

Penn State has been on the academic maps for decades. Joe emphasized it but it was already there.

Do some research. When Paterno arrived on campus, Penn State was primarily a pa centric university with 9,500 students. On his death, Penn State had 45,000 students and is internationally renowned with students and faculty from around the world. Today there are 75,000 with the 20th ranked engineering undergrad program and a top 50 business program.
This was not the case before Paterno put Penn State on the map.

 

[Lion84]

**** you. PSU tuition has always been at the very top of all public schools. Does not matter who the Governor was. The amount of idiocy on this board is just breathtaking sometimes, and your morons who try to politicize every single thing are just the worst. PA has never supported college education well (taxes). That's just the reality.

Like it or not politics plays a role in it jagoff.

 

[Op2]

Universities in general are in need of giant reform IMO. The world is completely different now. In the past, in order to efficiently get the information required for an education, you need to go to a specific physical place.

Public universities have become an Industrial Complex. Their original purpose was to serve the public but their purpose now is to get bigger and bigger. They have more stuff, more pointless expensive administrators, more luxuries for the students because often the students are borrowing money to go there and the universities don't care if they have to borrow a bundle that they can't pay back.

Outstanding student debt is something like $1.6 trillion dollars and the narrative around it is that the debt should be forgiven instead of that universities had to have massively ripped off students for that kind of debt to mount.

Way too many people go to college now. In the past you had to go to a college campus to get a lot of information. Now, everybody walks around with equivalent of a thousand college libraries in their pocket.

If we were designing colleges anew today we'd do nothing like what currently exists. Big change is needed but the problem is that entrenched interests will resist that like crazy.

 

[rmem]

Like it or not politics plays a role in it jagoff.

Like it or not it doesn't always matter jagoff. This is the kind of standard answer I expect an uneducated person to give. Please tell me you did not get a degree from PSU. Instead of researching it you give your stock answer.

 

[GregInPitt]

Like it or not it doesn't always matter jagoff. This is the kind of standard answer I expect an uneducated person to give. Please tell me you did not get a degree from PSU. Instead of researching it you give your stock answer.

Liberals are famous for making assumptions about the people they disagree with as part of their argument, which is what you seem to be doing. You don't know if anyone here has done any research or not, and we don't know that about you either. It's a message board and if differing opinions make you freak out into name calling maybe this isn't the place for you.....

 

[NealPaige]

This is very true - most of the absurd tuition increases have benefitted University Employees far more than it has benefitted students in the form of increased value of their degree - in fact, the value of college degrees has plunged as the market has been flooded with college degrees funded by families (parents mortgaging their homes, etc...) and students themselves going deep in debt to fund the ridiculous cost of these degrees at the very same time the value of the degree is plunging due to the number of degrees being issued annually which has skyrocketed across the US (it has gotten to the point that a college degree is almost as common as a high school degree).

It used to be claimed that the cost of a degree along with the income forgone during the 4-5 years it took to achieve it, were worth it as the PV (Present Value) of the higher average earnings over your career would be greater than the Cost of the Degree + the earnings foregone while in school. There is no way in hell this equation holds true anymore as the Cost of a Degree (Tuition + Room & Board) is approaching half a million for most students at major Universities by itself (the foregone earnings is another $100K-$200K).

Many college graduates cannot even find "professional" jobs at this point, the market is so flooded with undergraduate degrees - let alone an undergraduate degree commanding a premium over your career!

The biggest winner over the past 25 years of exploding higher education tuitions has been University bureaucrats and professors via higher salaries and benefits (including long-term retirement benefits) - it certainly has not been students and their families who have funded this boon for hypocritocal ivory tower elites.

Amen. Frauds living in an intellectual cocoon.

 

[PSU4U]

Yes, that simply cannot be denied, and you can say the same thing about many other schools like Oklahoma, Nebraska, Florida State, which used to be a female school, VPI, etc.

So true.

Prior to Oklahoma becoming a football power a sheepskin from there was as good as TP. Same for Nebraska. FSU is a different story not sure about VPI.

But no matter where you went to school a degree in most things will open doors to you that wouldn't open without it.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Out of state tuition is $40,000 a year. Add in my daughter's rent and living expenses, we're over 55k/yr. That's a disgrace. If I had another child to put through college,
child, she wouldn't be going to Penn State.

I won't even consider Penn State.
It's poorly run.
Losing academic reputation while oitpacing peers in tuition hikes is a bad combo.

 

[doctornick]

I won't even consider Penn State.
It's poorly run.
Losing academic reputation while oitpacing peers in tuition hikes is a bad combo.

Where do you see PSU "outpacing peers in tuition hikes"? PSU is very much in line with its peers - if anything, it's actually cheaper OOS for most students. It's just that OOS public anywhere are a tough choice to get a good ROI.

Can't disagree with the decrease in reputation, though it's been relatively modest.

 

[voltz99]

13 of them are under 1000, and of those 7 are under 500 students.
there are 19 campuses other than UP in total.

If you add up the 4 SW Pa campuses you almost get to 1700 students among 4 campuses that all would fit inside a 100 mile circle

Where did you come up with 1700? I looked up psu abington and it says 3000 full.time

 

[PurposePitch]

Where did you come up with 1700? I looked up psu abington and it says 3000 full.time

You do know that Abington, PA is in SE PA, and the person to whom you're responding specifically referenced SW PA, right?

Whichever branch campus you attended needs to be shuttered immediately.

Your brain is a victim of hoodienomics, no doubt.

 

[LMTLION]

I won't even consider Penn State.
It's poorly run.
Losing academic reputation while oitpacing peers in tuition hikes is a bad combo.

That’s a little harsh. It’s still a fabulous school and I am a proud alum! Show me one efficiently run university in this country. They don’t exist unfortunately.

 

[PurposePitch]

Do some research. When Paterno arrived on campus, Penn State was primarily a pa centric university with 9,500 students. On his death, Penn State had 45,000 students and is internationally renowned with students and faculty from around the world. Today there are 75,000 with the 20th ranked engineering undergrad program and a top 50 business program.
This was not the case before Paterno put Penn State on the map.

Oh, good lord. Paterno was an assistant when he came here. The university wasn't increasing enrollment because of an assistant football coach. For the love of all that is holy, the nuttiness you guys will resort to ...

By the time Paterno took the helm of the football team, there were almost 23K at UP and almost 35K university-wide. Rapid expansion was already well underway. It had almost tripled in the 16 years he was an assistant. Largely because of the educational boom following the end of WWII, and also because PSU became a University during that time. Then Hershey Medical became a thing right after Paterno became the head coach. There was actually a prolonged period of enrollment stagnation during Paterno's most successful stretches. Oy.

You're absolutely silly to tie Paterno to this University's rise in enrollment and educational prestige to the extent you are. My gawd.

 

[87 Penn St8]

Google tuition at state universities in America. They should close them all. They are grossly inefficient. U of FL tuition is $6800. PA tax payers have been screwed for several decades. My tuition, 1963-1967 was $1,450/yr and h ever changed.
If you have teens and work from home, move to FL. Plus, no income tax.

2 of the top 15 pupils from our SEPA graduating class did just that. Got Merit schollys to Gainesville but the out of state tuition hit hard. Both girls were the youngest, and both sets of parents retired and relocated to FL. Not sure of the timing to qualify for in state tuition but at least for last 3 years if not all 4. Both girls brought a years worth of AP credits- so potential Masters for price of undergrad.

Between the 2 they were accepted at UVA, U Michigan, UMiami, SMU, all the big Southern State Universities amongst others. Being a Gator for them is indeed a great deal 👌

 

[Roar More]

Paterno became head coach in 1966. The baby boomers hit college age around 1964. Which do you think had more of an impact on enrollment?

 

[bison13]

Where did you come up with 1700? I looked up psu abington and it says 3000 full.time

Abington isn’t in SWPA

 

[LandoComando]

**** you. PSU tuition has always been at the very top of all public schools. Does not matter who the Governor was. The amount of idiocy on this board is just breathtaking sometimes, and your morons who try to politicize every single thing are just the worst. PA has never supported college education well (taxes). That's just the reality.

He didn't start making it political...he responded to the nonsense to correct the person that was the problem. Why didn't you correctly criticize the person who started it? Feels like an agenda

 

[Navion N8865H]

TRADE SCHOOLS.

Get a job you were actually trained in right away. Become more profitable sooner at 1/4 the cost. Become debt free sooner. Get married build your home produce children and live a content/happy life.

This is so true, Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport offers Bachelors & Associate degrees in many fields where there is almost 100% job placement. A lot of the kids commute, graduate with less (or no) student debt and start earning very, very good salaries immediately.

 

[PaoliLion]

MMM - let's see Democrats have been Governors of Pa for the last 10 years so I guess that had zero to do with PSU funding.

Are you brain dead? The general assembly sets the budget and that's always been Republican. Yikes.

 

[GSPMax]

Oh, good lord. Paterno was an assistant when he came here. The university wasn't increasing enrollment because of an assistant football coach. For the love of all that is holy, the nuttiness you guys will resort to ...

By the time Paterno took the helm of the football team, there were almost 23K at UP and almost 35K university-wide. Rapid expansion was already well underway. It had almost tripled in the 16 years he was an assistant. Largely because of the educational boom following the end of WWII, and also because PSU became a University during that time. Then Hershey Medical became a thing right after Paterno became the head coach. There was actually a prolonged period of enrollment stagnation during Paterno's most successful stretches. Oy.

You're absolutely silly to tie Paterno to this University's rise in enrollment and educational prestige to the extent you are. My gawd.

Eric Walker became President of Penn State in 1956 until 1970.

"Renewed Emphasis on Football​

Eric Walker liked to tell a story about a conversation he had with his friend, the distinguished scientist Vannevar Bush, soon after being named president of Penn State. "Eric, there are three ways to build a great university," said Bush. "You can build a lot of buildings. You can build a football team. Or you can build a faculty." "Well, Van," Walker replied, "I am going to do all three."

Football was also the medium through which millions of Americans became acquainted with Penn State, as the University began to compete regularly against schools that were longstanding national football powers. Appearances oil national television networks began in 1958. The Nittany Lions made their second trip to a post-season bowl a year later, when they played in Philadelphia in the first annual Liberty Bowl. A second trip to the Liberty Bowl in 1960 was followed by two consecutive trips to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. All four bowls received national television and press coverage, and the Gator Bowl appearances in particular were financially worthwhile. (Promoters of the Liberty Bowl encountered difficulty In drawing large crowds and later moved the contest to Memphis, Tennessee.)

When President Walker said that Penn State should have a great football team in addition to a lot of buildings and a distinguished faculty, he was to be taken seriously. To his way of thinking, it made sense for the University to excel in football, so long as academic goals were not compromised. He and Milton Eisenhower had rejected Ralph Hetzel's philosophy that a heavily subsidized and publicized program of intercollegiate athletics, with football as its showpiece, was incompatible with the scholarly purpose of an institution of higher learning or with the noble "athletics for all" ideal of intramurals. "

Paterno embraced this philosophy of academics and athletics for his entire tenure at PSU. So, yes indeed Paterno was instrumental in putting PSU on the worldwide map.

Perhaps you would not be so shocked at this fact if you knew some PSU history and/or did some research.

 

[stf110]

Where did you come up with 1700? I looked up psu abington and it says 3000 full.time

Um.... have you looked at a map of Pennsylvania recently and seen what is in South Western PA and what is not (Abington for example).

 

[stf110]

I would be shocked if they do anything more than some more shuffling of the deck chairs on the Titantic, like the PSSHE did with their "mergers" of campuses.

Every time they look into closing a PSU or Pitt branch campus or a PSSHE school the State reps and senators for who's districts that campus is in or adjacent to goes on a warpath threatening the funding for the system that is looking at closing down a campus.

 

[PurposePitch]

Eric Walker became President of Penn State in 1956 until 1970.

"Renewed Emphasis on Football​

Eric Walker liked to tell a story about a conversation he had with his friend, the distinguished scientist Vannevar Bush, soon after being named president of Penn State. "Eric, there are three ways to build a great university," said Bush. "You can build a lot of buildings. You can build a football team. Or you can build a faculty." "Well, Van," Walker replied, "I am going to do all three."

Football was also the medium through which millions of Americans became acquainted with Penn State, as the University began to compete regularly against schools that were longstanding national football powers. Appearances oil national television networks began in 1958. The Nittany Lions made their second trip to a post-season bowl a year later, when they played in Philadelphia in the first annual Liberty Bowl. A second trip to the Liberty Bowl in 1960 was followed by two consecutive trips to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. All four bowls received national television and press coverage, and the Gator Bowl appearances in particular were financially worthwhile. (Promoters of the Liberty Bowl encountered difficulty In drawing large crowds and later moved the contest to Memphis, Tennessee.)

When President Walker said that Penn State should have a great football team in addition to a lot of buildings and a distinguished faculty, he was to be taken seriously. To his way of thinking, it made sense for the University to excel in football, so long as academic goals were not compromised. He and Milton Eisenhower had rejected Ralph Hetzel's philosophy that a heavily subsidized and publicized program of intercollegiate athletics, with football as its showpiece, was incompatible with the scholarly purpose of an institution of higher learning or with the noble "athletics for all" ideal of intramurals. "

Paterno embraced this philosophy of academics and athletics for his entire tenure at PSU. So, yes indeed Paterno was instrumental in putting PSU on the worldwide map.

Perhaps you would not be so shocked at this fact if you knew some PSU history and/or did some research.

That’s someone’s story. The actual facts are what I said in my previous post. Cults are sad. The historical enrollment numbers are right there for you to look at and see that your assertions are false.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Universities in general are in need of giant reform IMO. The world is completely different now. In the past, in order to efficiently get the information required for an education, you need to go to a specific physical place.

Public universities have become an Industrial Complex. Their original purpose was to serve the public but their purpose now is to get bigger and bigger. They have more stuff, more pointless expensive administrators, more luxuries for the students because often the students are borrowing money to go there and the universities don't care if they have to borrow a bundle that they can't pay back.

Outstanding student debt is something like $1.6 trillion dollars and the narrative around it is that the debt should be forgiven instead of that universities had to have massively ripped off students for that kind of debt to mount.

Way too many people go to college now. In the past you had to go to a college campus to get a lot of information. Now, everybody walks around with equivalent of a thousand college libraries in their pocket.

If we were designing colleges anew today we'd do nothing like what currently exists. Big change is needed but the problem is that entrenched interests will resist that like crazy.

Spot on. If one were assigned a project go developers top class, efficient education system the current university system certainly would not be the outcome. Have posted many times here that this system is doomed as future education will be internet based and guided by employers.

In fact the best model, IMO, is the exact opposite of what most here are endorsing.

Why have a massive campus in the middle of nowhere far from population centers or employers? Why even have a large singular campus?

The best design is to switch to branch campuses through out the commonwealth and get rid of the UP campus. The most important change is to switch to internet courses and students spend only one or two days at a branch campus doing lab work, tutoring, research and other activities that can’t be done at home.

Most students could actually be hired by businesses right out of high school and take classes at work, work half the day, and have tuition paid by employer. Students sign contract to work for company at least one year for every year of paid tuition or reimburse company if they leave early.

Each branch could customize curriculum to match with local job market and work with employers.

I know this will not happen but the current system is in serious trouble. The internet is just too efficient for the current system to compete. In five or ten years half the current universities will fold. Some will be merged and enact serious cuts in staff and offerings. It’s inevitable.

 

[GSPMax]

That’s someone’s story. The actual facts are what I said in my previous post. Cults are sad. The historical enrollment numbers are right there for you to look at and see that your assertions are false.

Someone's story? It is Penn State's history, and fact. A cult? You are sad.

Source is "Penn State an Illustrated History", by Michael Bezilla. Published by the Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and London. 1985

Read it and learn dolt.