PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s state university system can proceed with plans to merge six of its 14 universities into two new entities under a decision announced Tuesday by its accrediting body.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education announced on its website the decision, which was one of the last significant hurdles for the plan to clear, though schools continue to wait for word from the National Collegiate Athletic Association on whether each of the six campuses can maintain their individual sports teams.
Under the plan, Bloomsburg, Mansfield and Lock Haven universities in North Central Pennsylvania would become one entity, known as the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, though each campus would remain intact and continue to use their individual names, mascots and logos for most messaging, including the degrees students are awarded. The other merger involves California, Clarion and Edinboro, which will become Pennsylvania Western University.
The mergers, approved by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s board of governors last July, are scheduled to take effect for the 2022-23 academic year, though some of the curriculum integration will be phased in over a longer period. The campuses in both groups will report to a single leadership team and operate with one staff and budget.
It’s the biggest change in the state system’s nearly 39-year history, one that system officials say will grow enrollment, save millions, and improve operating margins within three to five years. But the integrations also yielded a backlash from some faculty, students and alumni, who feared the schools will lose their identities, see a further drop-off in enrollment and offer students fewer in-person learning opportunities.
System officials countered that the mergers will offer students a greater array of courses and enable them to graduate more quickly. They also say that although students in some majors may need to take some classes online, 75% of students concentrated in eight to 10 majors will have in-person access to all classes.
The state legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf approved legislation in 2020 that allows the system, formed in 1983, to consolidate or merge some campuses. The system quickly followed with an announcement of its intention to study the potential integration of some of its universities. The announcement came after more than a decade of enrollment decline and continued financial struggles. The 88,651-student system has lost more than a quarter of its enrollment since 2010. This year, as college enrollments have dropped nationally, the system recorded its largest one-year enrollment decline in more than a decade.
