Pittsburgh Technical College leaders mull possible sale, merger as enrollment falls

Leaders of a nearly 80-year-old technical college in Oakdale are weighing options that include selling or merging the institution amid falling enrollment and financial strains.

The issues facing Pittsburgh Technical College resemble those confronting higher education generally. But they have been complicated by recent infighting over leadership, accusations of misconduct against its president, Alicia Harvey-Smith, and counterclaims that she has been unfairly targeted.

The school has 1,066 students, little more than half its enrollment in 2016 when it transitioned from a for-profit to nonprofit institution.

Currently, its trustees and senior leaders are in weekly talks with parties holding a stake in the college and its bond debt regarding financial options, said Steve Trusnovic, a recently appointed school trustee and mayor of Oakdale.  

Across Western Pennsylvania and beyond, fewer high school graduates have left many colleges with empty seats, and in some cases, prompted closures, such as Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia, about 100 miles from Pittsburgh. Alderson, founded in 1871, recently declared bankruptcy.

Trusnovic said no one wants to see PTC close. The school is dealing with an $8 million loss in net assets during the fiscal year ended June 30 and is looking at various paths forward.

“That could be a sale or merger, refinancing. That’s one of the things we’re doing with the bondholders … trying to find what works best for everybody,” he said.

Harvey-Smith was not available for an interview.

A public relations firm hired by the college said loss of federal aid that had been available to schools during the pandemic contributed to the asset decline, though it declined to say how much federal aid it received.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education said Friday the college received in total about $19 million to address covid losses.

The public relations firm said PTC is aggressively pursuing high school students and graduates through dual enrollment and has engaged with the University of Pittsburgh for opportunities to train the region’s tech workers.

“The college remains fully accredited and has no plans to close,” said an email response from Katie Kirkpatrick Regan, CEO and founder of Kirkpatrick Group, the public relations firm.

Her firm pointed to recent efforts to strengthen instruction including in the area of robotics.

Her firm’s statement read in part:

“The college is exploring a variety of different scenarios, including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and other creative thinking to ensure financial stability for the future. All of these different scenarios, regardless of outcome, include remaining accredited and prioritizing current and future students.”

College history

Established in 1946, the college was originally known as Pittsburgh Technical Institute. It changed its name as it transitioned in 2016 from a for-profit college to a nonprofit institution.

Years earlier, in 2000, the college moved from its location in the City of Pittsburgh to a 180-acre campus in the Pittsburgh suburb of Oakdale, citing enrollment and programmatic growth at the time as reasons for the move. The location at 1111 McKee Road includes student housing and a six-story education building, according to bank and college records.

As of this week, the college’s website lists 28 programs, most of them associate degree and certificate offerings, in areas from business administration and technology to culinary arts, nursing and welding. Its four bachelor’s programs are in business, management and information systems and technology.

Internal discord

For months, internal discord has pitted some faculty and staff against PTC’s board and president. Anonymous complaints accusing her of financial and other misconduct, as well as a vote of no-confidence, led the college to commission an outside investigation.

Initially, those findings were not released.

On Oct. 7, the dispute took a curious turn.

On that day, a statement posted to PRNewswire chided school trustees for dereliction of duty in not addressing issues related to finances and leadership.

It alluded to the unanimous vote of no confidence in the president from 82% of faculty and staff and quoted Nancy Feather, then registrar. She also was listed as the contact for the news release.

“We believe that it is our duty to inform stakeholders of the Board’s failure to take decisive action because we love the College and the students we serve,” said Feather, also executive director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research/Registrar. “PTC plays a vital role in educating students for careers that fuel our region’s economy. We know PTC’s future is bright and will only become brighter – but we need to be freed from this impasse.”

Officials this week said Feather is no longer employed by the college. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nine days after that statement, the college confirmed on Oct. 16 the resignation of several board members and the appointment of six new members to the eight-member panel.

Then, on Oct. 27, the college issued a statement saying that “a new board” of trustees at the college expressed unwavering support for Harvey-Smith. It called the attacks against her unfair and destructive.

“They have been contacting media, financial institutions, and higher education commissions with incomplete, misleading information about a college that our region so direly needs,” it read. “These efforts are in fact harming and placing every employee and student at risk.”

It quoted a board member appointed in October, Bev Moore, deputy executive director of Allegheny County Housing Authority, as saying Harvey-Smith had been “brave and committed” to PTC amid the attacks. Through a county spokeswoman, Moore referred questions to the college.

PTC leaders say they dismissed most complaints about the president summarily as unfounded but explored three – a scholarship awarded to a student at a mostly Black school: a copying contract awarded by the college and use of college resources by the president in publishing a book she authored.

The college’s currently constituted board said it found no wrongdoing, though in the case of the book expenditure, PTC would develop guidelines for future instances.

Harvey-Smith received $332,010 in total compensation from the college, according to the school’s 2021 federal Form 990, the most current publicly available.

Tuition in bachelor’s programs not counting fees, room and board range from $15,800 to $20,400 yearly, according to its website.

The college declined to release a copy of its most recent audit of its finances, which noted the $8 million drop in assets.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the school’s accrediting body, sent PTC requests on Oct. 31 and Dec 18 for supplemental information regarding concerns involving institutional reporting and governance. The school’s accreditation was last reaffirmed in 2017 and is due for another self-study and evaluation in 2025-26.