Does Pennsylvania Have Too Many Colleges?

By Chris Nicholas

As we have long heard, demographics are destiny, correct? Come 2026 there will be many fewer 18 year olds/high school grads — which are the main targets for most colleges.

Back in the financial crisis of 2007-08, birth rates plummeted as folks were less sanguine about their future. Next year, that will be 18 years ago, hence the demographic cliff facing many of our institutions of higher learning. Essentially we will have too many colleges chasing too few traditional college students.

Of course, it should be noted that a good chunk of high school grads decide to enter the workforce and/or join our all-volunteer military.

As SpotlightPA wrote last summer: “The Hechinger Report says on average about one U.S. university or college has announced plans to close or merge per week this year, displacing students, most of whom wind up leaving higher education for good.”

The Commonwealth has approx. 300 colleges, which I put into 4 basic categories:

The state-related schools: Penn State, Temple, Pitt and Lincoln (an HBCU)
The PASSHE schools (PA State System of Higher Education), also referred to as our state schools (West Chester, IUP, Shippensburg, et al) comprise 10 schools with 14 campuses. Their total enrollment is 82,500+, and about 88% of those students are PA residents, with women comprising 60% of students. (More here)
Our many fine private colleges
Community Colleges (15 schools) and other 2-year technical schools.

The state’s PASSHE system has already partially contracted and now Penn State is talking about closing/contracting the bulk of its 20 ‘branch’ campuses, particularly the smaller ones. As the PSU president said recently, “Historically, our smaller campuses draw most of their students from their local area, and there is no realistic way to recruit nationally or internationally to maintain enrollment at these locations.” (no paywall)

Those branch campuses are part of the overall PSU system but allow students to get their college education at a lower price, often closer to home than the main campus in State College. Back when I was coming out of high school, most PSU branch campuses operated as a 2-year feeder school into main campus, but that changed a long time ago.

For years many have thought those branch campuses were hurting the PASSHE schools. The PASSHE schools, on average, cost less than PSU.

Eight branch campuses are secure – but, “the remaining locations – – Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Scranton, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York – – are under review” by PSU administrators. (no paywall)

The current demographic conundrum has also hit the state’s private college and universities as well.

Cabrini College down in Radnor closed for good and its campus is being swallowed into nearby Villanova University. Commonwealth University, a mashup/merger of 3 PASSHE schools (Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield) announced recently they were closing their Clearfield branch campus. (no paywall)

And Philly’s famed University of the Arts closed down suddenly last June, leaving students, faculty and staff in the lurch.

Pennsylvania is rightly known for, and proud of, its rich collection of public and private colleges and universities, both at the undergrad and graduate level.

Of note: 1 of every 6 doctors in the country has been trained in Philadelphia, and that does not even count our other stellar med schools across the rest of the state.

So it would seem that we do have too many colleges now, given the expected crop of incoming high school graduates. Can our colleges ride out that storm? Many will, but not all. If you’re running a PA college now facing shrinking enrollment and do not have a vibrant endowment, rough seas are probably upon you.

My kids received fine educations at a PASSHE school and a state-related school (IUP & Pitt), so let’s hope all involved bite the bullet and support the state’s colleges as they right-size and prepare for the future.

(Chris Nicholas is a veteran political consultant with Eagle Consulting and writes the PA Political Digest.)