As PennWest struggles, 1st-year enrollment up again at other Pa. state-owned universities

In revealing fall 2023 enrollment data Monday, leaders of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities asserted that they potentially had turned a corner in reversing 13 years of student declines.

But there’s a problem with that scenario – PennWest University.

Data shows a continuing steep drop at PennWest, established last year by merging California, Clarion and Edinboro universities.

Overall enrollment there fell once again by 11.5%, and first-year student numbers are down by an even larger share – 20.5%.

The losses occurred as other Western Pennsylvania state-owned universities saw gains, aided by five successive tuition freezes.

PennWest is the largest in Western Pennsylvania of the 10 State System of Higher Education universities.

Now into its second year of operation, PennWest’s double-digit decline leaves it 22% or 3,172 students smaller than the 14,477 students that California, Clarion and Edinboro universities attracted in 2021 before they were merged.

Commonwealth University, created by merger as well, saw overall headcount decline by 8.1% this fall to 11,108 students. But new student numbers are up by 11.8%. Commonwealth includes the former Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities.

In the interview with the Tribune-Review, State System Chancellor Daniel Greenstein said he remains optimistic about prospects for the newly created institutions. He’d be more concerned about PennWest’s trajectory had Commonwealth not shown sharp improvement in its first-year numbers.

“The fact that Commonwealth can post a double digit gain says this is not about integration. There is something else going on, and we’ve just got to work on it,” he said. “I think PennWest is getting its arms around what that something else is, and they’re gonna land it. They’ve got some good people.”

Across the State System, first-year enrollment is up for a second straight year, and leaders credit five successive years of freezing tuition and better targeting of academic programs.

Systemwide, headcount continued to slide - down by 2.2%, to 82,688 students. But seven of the 10 universities including Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Slippery Rock University saw gains.

Across the 10 universities, new enrollment grew on average by 3.4% compared with 2022 and is now 10% higher than two years ago. Of the seven universities with freshman and certificate-seeking student gains this fall, four registered double-digit increases: IUP, 15%; East Stroudsburg University, 21.3%; Cheyney University, 15.2% and Commonwealth University, 11.8%.

Half of the 10 universities saw overall enrollment gains.

“We’re doing better as a set of universities,” Greenstein told the Trib. ”The positive trend that began to show up last year continues, so that’s fantastic.”

Given that in-state tuition has held steady at $7,716 since 2018-19, Greenstein said leaders hope that first-year enrollment growth will spread to sophomore, junior and senior levels as the system’s cost advantage over other four-year institutions grows.

“Price matters,” he said.

Trustees at PennWest voted in April to consolidate six academic colleges into three to pare expenses as the university works to rebuild enrollment. Leaders are in the early stages of a search to succeed President Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, the school’s founding president, who stepped down in February effective immediately and has now retired.

Faculty leaders have expressed concern about issues at PennWest and its predecessor universities, including frequent presidential turnover.

“All I can say to you is there have been issues and they are being resolved,” said Kenneth Mash, president of the 5,000-member Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, without elaborating. “There is reason to expect they’ll do better.”

Elsewhere in Western Pennsylvania, IUP’s 4.8% overall enrollment increase was its first in 11 years and was second largest systemwide this fall after a 6% increase at East Stroudsburg University.

Slippery Rock University saw a 1.4% total enrollment gain. It saw its biggest first-year student increase since before the pandemic and its highest ever graduate enrollment.

The improved numbers are noteworthy given enrollment declines nationally the last 12 years that were most pronounced in the Northeast and Midwest, and exacerbated by the pandemic, officials said.

Undergraduate enrollment has declined 9% nationally since covid-19, according to a report this spring by the Virginia-based National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

In Pennsylvania, Greenstein said the ability to hold tuition steady is tied to a 23% increase in support from the General Assembly the last two years. Without the freezes, Pennsylvanians would be paying 21% or $1,600 a year more a year than they are now.

Program modifications are enabling schools to some extent to offer sought-after programs beyond their own campuses, officials said. More than three-fourths are majoring in fields considered high demand.

“The strategy is working, said Cynthia Shapira, chair of the State System board of governors.

The State System was founded in 1983. Its highest enrollment was 119,513 students in 2010. Its down by 31% or 36,825 students, mirroring other declines nationally.