APSCUF, the union that represents the faculty at IUP and other state-owned universities, released the results of a survey of their members concerning the plans to consolidate six universities to two.
Back in October of 2020, the State System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Greenstein announced the consolidation plan. A process to develop the plan followed with key constituents forming about 200 working groups and more than 400 APSCUF members involved in some of those groups. While Greenstein said that students seem to be excited about the consolidation efforts, the results of APSCUF’s survey show that most of their members are not as supportive of those efforts.
APSCUF sent surveys to 1,469 members in late March, with 991 of them completing the survey. Results showed eight percent of the members were supportive of consolidation, while nearly 70 percent were not. Eleven percent said that the final program curricular array will reflect the work of the consolidation sub-groups, while 63 percent say they don’t believe it will. Seven percent said the process was a transparent one, and 78 percent disagree with that point. And only three percent of those surveyed said they were excited about consolidation, with 83 percent saying they were not excited.
APSCUF president Dr. Jamie Martin said in her statement that the survey showed “little faculty buy-in to the current plan,” and said that there is “a disconnect between the narratives that exist and are being pushed in many venues by the State System regarding the views of faculty.” She says that it would be to the benefit to the Chancellor and the State System Board of Governors to listen to the concerns of the faculty.
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