You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is engaging in a strategic review that will include weighing mergers and closings among its 14 universities, officials said Thursday.
Currently, the state system’s organizational structure, funding and operations are unsustainable, Chancellor Frank T. Brogan said, according to prepared remarks delivered in an annual State of the System address. He noted that many state higher education systems are confronting financial issues and enrollment challenges by looking at mergers or closures.
“Is that were we are headed? That’s a question I can’t answer today, nor can anyone else,” Brogan said. “But it is a question we must ask -- and answer -- this year.”
Pennsylvania is increasing its appropriation to its higher education system this year. But system Board of Governors Chair Cynthia D. Shapira noted in remarks that the system is receiving $60 million less from the state than it did before the recession.
The system has 105,000 students across its campuses but has experienced five consecutive years of enrollment declines. This is the first time the state system of higher education has considered options like mergers or closures in its 35-year history, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
