Pa. community colleges, state universities prepare for Shapiro’s overhaul
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a new “blueprint for higher education” that includes the unification of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities and community colleges under a new governance system.
Shapiro will propose a “significant investment in state-owned universities, community colleges and the students they serve,” in his budget address on Feb. 6, according to a Monday, Jan. 29, news release from his office.
Nick Neupauer, president of Butler County Community College, said he and the college’s administrators are reviewing preliminary information issued by the governor in preparation for the budget address. Shapiro’s news release said local leadership for PASSHE universities and community colleges would be preserved despite their plan for unification under one umbrella.
“We understand our role locally as the community’s college,” Neupauer said. “We are reviewing these recommendations as potential opportunities to build on the mission we share with other community colleges in the state, which is to provide affordable, accessible high-quality education.”
In addition to uniting PASSHE schools and community colleges, Shapiro’s three-part blueprint also focuses on increasing access and transparency. The blueprint is an answer to colleges having to compete for funding and students, with enrollment in PASSHE and community college schools decreasing by at least 30% during the past 10 years. BC3 went from a credit enrollment of 5,371 in the 2012-13 school year to 3,394 in the 2022-23 school year.
Under the proposed new system, Pennsylvanians making up to the median income will pay no more than $1,000 in tuition and fees per semester at state-owned universities and community colleges. To help students attending state-funded universities and independent colleges, Shapiro’s plan will increase Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) grants for all students by $1,000.
The plan also proposes state colleges and universities receive funding based on a formula which takes into account factors including increasing enrollment, the number of first-generation college students that receive credentials and the graduation rate. Furthermore, the formula will incentivize institutions to recruit and support students to complete degrees and earn credentials in fields facing workforce shortages, according to Shapiro’s news release.
Shapiro also plans to drive out this performance-based funding formula through the Pennsylvania Department of Education for state-funded universities, so a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature would not be required.
Dan Greenstein, chancellor of PASSHE, took an optimistic approach to the blueprint, saying uniting state-funded universities with community colleges would benefit both.
“PASSHE’s remarkable transformation over the past six years shows that a collaborative system is good for students, communities and employers, and we know higher education can accomplish so much more by uniting,” Greenstein said. “Together we can create a new, larger system with better collaboration that gives students more pathways to a degree or credential, rapidly adjusts to the changing knowledge and skills employers want, and provides the lowest-cost option for students throughout their lifetime.”
