Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that oversees 10 state-owned universities. Collectively, it is the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. All of the schools are primarily NCAA Division II members and affiliated with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).[2][3]

Not to be confused with Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses or Commonwealth System of Higher Education.

Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education
TypeState university system
EstablishedJuly 1, 1983 (1983-07-01)
Academic affiliations
Keystone Library Network
ChancellorDaniel Greenstein
Academic staff
5,500
Students84,600 students (2022)[1]
Location
Harrisburg
,
Pennsylvania
,
United States
Campus10 universities
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division II – PSAC
Websitewww.passhe.edu

PASSHE should not be confused with Pennsylvania's other state-funded university system, the Commonwealth System of Higher Education that includes the land grant university (Pennsylvania State University), three historically private universities (Temple University, Lincoln University, and University of Pittsburgh), and the related campuses of the four institutions.

History

The Normal School Act of 1857 was passed on the last day of session on May 20, 1857.[4] Its passage created 12 normal school districts in the state in which to establish private corporations answerable to the State Superintendent of Common Schools.[5] Afterward, the School Code of 1911 mandated that the Commonwealth purchase all the normal schools. The normal schools evolved from state normal schools, to state teacher's colleges, to state colleges. Act 188, which was signed into law on November 12, 1982, and came into effect on July 1, 1983, established the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and converted those state colleges into universities.

2022 consolidations

A plan to merge six of the current PASSHE institutions into two multi-campus universities is ongoing as of July 2021. There was opposition to the plan.[6][7][8][9][10] It has faced opposition by the Lock Haven City Council,[11] the Clinton County Commissioners,[12] the Clear Coalition,[13] the Party for Socialism and Liberation Chester County, PASSHE Defenders,[14] AFSCME Council 13,[15] Pennsylvania AFL–CIO,[16] APSCUF[16][17] and from public comments. Groups like APSCUF, AFSCME, and the Pennsylvania AFL–CIO held a press conference May 3, 2021,[16] to speak out in opposition to the consolidation. PASSHE Defenders & the Party for Socialism & Liberation Chester County held rallies across the state at the campuses slated for consolidation[18] and at the state capital Harrisburg.[19] The plan being a part of the larger state system redesign was projected to have disastrous effects according to a report out of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[20] The report titled "The Economic Impact of the PASSHE Employment Reductions" outlines "[The] large cuts in staffing, both of faculty and of professional and classified staff in good unionized jobs, constitute the core of the restructuring. The cuts, amounting to 14 percent of overall PASSHE employment, are of a magnitude equivalent to the largest private-sector plant closings and mass layoffs of the previous decade in Pennsylvania."[20]

Under the plan, two sets of three schools would merge into single institutions effective July 1, 2022—Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield in the state's northeast, and California, Clarion, and Edinboro in western Pennsylvania. Each three-school group would have a new name, but the plan called for all institutions involved in these mergers to retain their current campus identities and athletic programs. The PASSHE board of governors approved the plan on April 28, 2021, which opened a 60-day public comment period.

The comment period originally was set to have two public comment hearings throughout the 60-day public comment period as outlined in Act 50,[21] only taking place on June 9 and 10. However after public pressure the Board of Governors announced the addition of two additional hearings the same days.[22] Additionally, APSCUF held their own public comment hearings.[23]

The NCAA would have to approve the continued separation of the athletic programs at the merged institutions.[24] The board voted unanimously to approve the merger on July 14, but a system press release stated that "the efforts to complete the two integrations will take years."[25]

Funding

State higher education funding across the country has seen significant cuts. In particular Pennsylvania saw an almost 34% cut in state funding from 2008 to 2018.[26] PASSHE over the past two decades has been cut harshly in regards to state funding. As the early 2000's they received over $700 million adjusted to 2022's dollars by the state. However the 2021–2022 academic year they received below $500 million.[27][28]

The system is a composition of 10 universities in Pennsylvania:

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