Start getting used to these words: Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.
You’ll be hearing them a lot as the new legal identity for the combined state-owned campuses of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities.
The State System of Higher Education board of governors, during a special meeting Wednesday, approved the new identity for the three northeast universities — among six of its 14 State System institutions being merged into two. Wednesday’s vote was unanimous.
The move follows an October decision by the State System board to create Pennsylvania Western University or Penn West, as the new umbrella identities for California, Clarion and Edinboro universities.
Both merged institutions plan to enroll their first classes in August.
As was said when Penn West was born, officials Wednesday pledged that the respective identities of the three northeast universities will be represented in the new collective identity. In fact, Bloomsburg President Bashar Hanna said the new identity will be “in the background” and “not front facing.”
At Wednesday’s special meeting, the system board approved a diploma policy revision that could give greater flexibility to represent existing university names on diplomas, even after the campus names are changed.
Merging universities is a gigantic academic and financial task, but also a massive effort at rebranding and marketing, all while maintaining donor and alumni affinity for schools and their athletic programs.
All six universities being merged date to roughly the Civil War era, and despite various name changes including former teachers colleges, they have maintained distinct identities and bonds with their host communities and graduates. There’s the Edinboro Fighting Scots, the Cal U Vulcans and the Clarion University Golden Eagles, just like the Bloomsburg Huskies, Lock Haven Bald Eagles and Mansfield Mountaineers.
Chancellor Daniel Greenstein has expressed confidence that the NCAA will allow a full complement of sports on all six combined campuses. A decision by that body and a parallel accrediting decision by the Middle States Commission for Higher Education are expected within weeks.
All three northeast universities will maintain “the use of the word University, existing logos, colors, mascots, and traditions. Diplomas will prominently display either Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University, or Mansfield University at the top of the document according to each graduate's location of choice,” officials said in a statement Wednesday after announcing the new name.
“Since the beginning of the integration process we have committed to retaining the local names and identities of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities, acknowledging that they are the heartbeats of the communities they serve,” Mr. Greenstein said. “These three historic institutions are continuing their evolution.”
Jamie Martin, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, said after the meeting that she was not briefed prior to Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. session about the new name.
System enrollment across the 14 institutions is almost 89,000, down from nearly 120,000 in 2010.
“With only a few months before the new university opens, we still have questions about how the name will be used and, more important, how identities will be preserved,” she said. “My initial reaction is that the name could cause confusion among prospective students and families when they are exploring their university options.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, the board also approved proposals by Indiana University of Pennsylvania and East Stroudsburg University to end-price experiments that had charged students more for tuition, and instead return to base full-time in-state tuition, currently, at $7,716 a year.
Officials at IUP, whose campus faced declining enrollment and financial woes when the per-credit system was announced six years ago, said replacing the discounted full-time rate for 12 to 18 credits with a per-credit model was a fairer approach. They said it would encourage students to take more credits — even at a higher price — and would help address inefficiency of full-time students who took extra courses, only to drop them early. They said it reflected a shift toward students who wanted to attend part time.
But even before the program was implemented in fall 2016, there were questions raised on and off campus about the likely impact.
In 2015, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette analyzed credit-load distribution across IUP’s undergraduate population and found most full-time students would pay substantially more — upward of $1,100 for those taking 15 credits a semester, based on tuition charged at the time.
The newspaper quoted a then-undergraduate at IUP, Amy Kinneer, of Indian Head, Fayette County, who said she did not understand the rationale behind the program, which was delayed a year and then implemented in fall 2016.
“I think it’s going to be just the opposite,” Ms. Kinneer said of how student credit-taking patterns would change. “They’re going to take what they can afford.”
Other individuals and groups also expressed early concerns, including the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. Some said declines in enrollment, student retention and the university’s market share were predictable.
On Wednesday, Ms. Martin said she — like her predecessor, Kenneth Mash — sounded the alarm before the idea was implemented that enrollment and student persistence could suffer.
“We asked them to consider that this model would increase the cost for a student taking 15 credits by 25% and those enrolled for 18 credits by 50%,” Ms. Martin told the State System board Wednesday. “Think about that. We are currently hearing a lot about inflation — the cost of gasoline, the cost of groceries — and all of us notice those increased costs in our pocketbooks.
“Imagine how our students felt when they learned of a 25% or 50% increase in their tuition,” she added.
Asked why the program did not meet expectations, officials said many factors were at play, from fewer high school graduates to the pandemic that affected many universities.
“Student behaviors are simply impossible to predict,” IUP spokeswoman Michelle Frying said Wednesday. “To attribute the change in enrollment to any one factor is just not possible.”
Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1977 and on Twitter @Bschackner.
First Published: March 2, 2022, 10:24 p.m.