STATE SYSTEM CHANCELLOR TO MAKE VIRTUAL VISIT TO IUP TODAY

State System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Greenstein will bring his virtual campus tour to IUP today, focusing on “The Future of System Redesign.” On Indiana In the Morning on WCCS yesterday, spokesman Dave Pidgeon said it will be an opportunity to hear the chancellor’s thoughts, but just as importantly, for him to hear from the university community.

Pidgeon says the chancellor will bring his ideas – what he often calls “the story in my head” – but he also wants to hear what others are thinking. There are some very important issues on the table. APSCUF, the faculty union at the state-owned universities, said this week that IUP is one of the schools considering laying off workers (known as “retrenchment”). He says the State System is working with its universities to consider the necessary steps to its financial footing.

Pidgeon says that in 2009, the difference between tuition at a state-related university and a State System university was about $7,000, and it was around $9,000 in relation to private schools. Now, he says the gap has shrunk to around $2,000 and $2,700. He says they have to find a way to make a State System education more affordable.

Another topic that could be explored is the State System’s new initiative to align programs and course with the needs of Pennsylvania’s employers. Pidgeon says the new approach would help job-seekers and employers, and would also fall within the universities’ mission.