We live in PA and I have a rising senior who is getting all the college advertising mail. We just got one for PennWest University, which is the merger of the PASSHE schools Clarion, Edinboro, and California. It advertises 3 distinct campuses and 3 distinct athletic programs. How does this merger work if they’re still maintaining separate campuses and programs? I just fail to see how this is an actual merger.
For what it’s worth, my kid isn’t considering any PASSHE school. My kid really wants engineering and a large state flagship and will most likely end up at Penn State or an SEC school. This is just to satisfy my own curiosity, but I do have a younger kid too, so understanding our instate schools is probably a good idea! I just don’t understand how these mergers are supposed to work.
I’ve read articles for the past two years and I’m no further along with understanding the path forward. Lots of talk, light on details. My guess is kicking the can down the road as far as they can. Ultimately it has to mean loss of jobs.
FYI. Pitt has direct admission for engineering. Penn State isn’t direct admit. Temple was a no go for both sons. Do your own research. WVU is always an option that people seem to forget.
NC State was one of our favorites. Also like Auburn. S20 at Georgia Tech and S21 at FSU. Love FSU but not necessarily for engineering. Good luck.
I live in PA and work for a community college, and I have all the same questions about the PASSHE mergers. Some feedback I have heard from parents with kids at the (formerly known) Lock Haven, is that services are limited and hard to contact, and there are more online courses than they would like. They are likely sharing faculty and admin between merged schools. But how much can they really save by keeping all these campuses open?
I don’t think anyone knows TBH. I don’t have any more kids to put thru college, but I would discourage one from looking at some of those “merged” schools if I did. Too many other choices that aren’t as uncertain IMHO. We have a wonderful PASSHE school in West Chester that would be a great choice.
While I was hoping someone had an answer, I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who doesn’t understand this, so I guess it’s not just me being obtuse! I guess they do save some with merged admin and faculty, but it sounds like the overall experience is lessened with online classes and less services, which won’t be great for enrollment numbers, which won’t help their finances.
West Chester is really nice and I know a lot of kids that go there and like it. I have a rising college sophomore who is OOS, a rising HS senior who wants a giant state school, and a rising HS sophomore who has plenty of time and hasn’t given college much thought. Neither of my two oldest kids considered WCU because it is way too close to home and it doesn’t have kid 2’s desired major. We haven’t looked closely at any of the PASSHE schools because they’re not what my kids have wanted so far, but since I do live in PA, I feel like I should understand how this merger thing is supposed to work.
Coming back to this thread to report that the waters are now muddier than ever for PASSHE, and now PA community colleges. As I mentioned upthread, I’ve been working for a PA community college for almost 20 years. In late 2023 Governor Shapiro called in CC and PASSHE presidents and shared an initial vision of merging the CCs and PASSHE schools together. The presidents have been told, in no uncertain terms, that this is happening. Since that initial vision, more directives have been put on all the colleges, in preparation for this merger to begin. He wants some initiatives complete by July 1 of this year, with full implementation by Fall 2025. At least this is what we’ve been told by our college president.
He says that he wants to maintain maximum accessibility and affordability for PA students. He also does not want CCs and PASSHE schools to compete with one another. (Which has been happening for the past several years. Many PASSHE schools are so desperate for students that they are practically open enrollment.) To reduce competition, some schools will focus more on certain programs based on market demand and data driven success rates.
It certainly sounds to us like he wants CCs to focus on workforce development, and concentrate on 2 year programs that are designed to go into the workforce. But he can’t take away the transferable 2 year degree programs entirely, as CCs are the most accessible and affordable options for low income students. Students can take the bus to get to their local CC, but often cannot do the same for the closest PASSHE school. There is no way the state will be able to fund PASSHE schools to bring tuition down to the CC level.
Very likely that you have not heard of this plan, unless you work for a PASSHE or CC in PA. From what we’ve been told, the governor will outline his plan to the public in his State of the State address in February (5th or 6th, I can’t remember.) Suffice it to say that the next 18 months are going to be full of uncertainty as job cuts are likely on the table all around.
