System Redesign provided a roadmap for universities and the System to address financial and operational changes so students from every background would continue to have access to affordable, high-quality public higher education.

The Evolving Landscape of Public Higher Education

Nationwide, colleges and universities are grappling with significant challenges: declining enrollment, evolving student needs, lagging state funding, and rising costs. The challenges have been particularly acute for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). As a result, the system set upon an innovative and bold redesign effort to fundamentally transform education and business models while prioritizing student success.

Confronting Reality

In 2017, PASSHE universities were at a crossroads. Years of underfunding by the state and deep cuts during the Great Recession created tremendous financial pressure on universities. The resulting tuition increases and drop in the high school-age population caused a significant enrollment decline just as the state needed more people with credentials and college degrees. The State System had to change and rebuild trust with state government leaders for the long-term success of students, universities and Pennsylvania's economy.

Rethinking Everything

PASSHE started with a strategic review in 2017—looking at everything from top to bottom—to identify necessary changes to ensure the long-term success of its students and universities. In 2018, the review led to the “System Redesign,” a commitment to long-term university stability so PASSHE universities could continue serving their students, regions, and all of Pennsylvania.

Results of System Redesign

System Redesign was a multi-phase, system-wide effort to 1) advance student success, 2) leverage universities’ strengths as a system, and 3) enhance "systemness" through accountability and governance.

The system has made transformative changes, setting it on a new trajectory. While there is more work to do on every front, today PASSHE enjoys the following:

• Improved financial stability for the system.
• Improved enrollment trends that include flattening a decade-long enrollment decline.
• Improved affordability due to tuition frozen since 2018.
• Improved legislative relationships that have built support and trust among the system, the General Assembly, and the Governor’s office; and
• Significantly increased state investment by more than 30% in the last few years.

As part of the System Redesign effort, PASSHE integrated six existing universities into two larger institutions to preserve students’ access to higher education. Those two integrated universities offer more degree programs together than any of the six individual institutions could alone. While much progress has been made, the work has been demanding for everyone involved, and the system is committed to providing ongoing leadership and support for the students, faculty, staff, and leaders of these institutions as they continue to chart new courses to ensure their success.  At the same time, the system continues to closely monitor and enhance the ongoing health of the other universities in the system. All of them are achieving higher levels of financial sustainability, but they face the same threats other universities around the nation face.

The Road Ahead

As with many institutions across the country, PASSHE has felt the effects of demographic changes that have impacted the enrollment of traditional-aged college students. As such, the system has the opportunity to consider how to reach these and other underserved students better. The universities are laying a foundation for building high-quality and industry-aligned non-degree credentials, shared academic programs, a systemwide student information system, and other efforts that help serve a much wider array of students.