After last week’s historic meeting of the State System of Higher Education Board of Governors, Chancellor Dan Greenstein’s newest blog paints a hopeful picture of the future for IUP and the thirteen other state-owned universities, but acknowledges the hard times the schools are enduring.
Greenstein outlines four prevailing attitudes that he calls myths:
- That the future of some of the schools is in doubt.
- That the integration of some schools is just a “pre-baked plan” to achieve cost-cutting.
- That cutting personnel is irresponsible and is concentrated on specific groups.
- And that reducing the size of State System faculties will harm students.
Greenstein says nearly half of the universities in the System have had enrollment gains this fall and student retention rates are improving. Still, he says, while revenues grew by only six percent from 2010 to 2019, employee costs grew by more than double that rate, and labor accounts for 75 percent of the State System’s expenses.
APSCUF, the faculty union at the State System, contends that the stated desire to return to the 2010/2011 student-to-faculty ratio is “problematic and deceptive”, but Greenstein says it’s “normal for our universities.” He says in the blog that returning to that level will not impede a student’s progress toward a degree, will not cause class sizes to balloon out of control, and will not result in more non-faculty employees than faculty at State System schools.
Greenstein testified about the State System Redesign before the State House Appropriations Committee earlier today, and on Wednesday he will testify before the Senate Appropriations and Education committees at 9AM.
You can read the Chancellor’s blog post by clicking here.
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