By a 17-2 margin, the board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education this morning voted to approve integration plans to bring six universities together into two groups.
The approval this morning initiates a 60-day public review of the state system consolidation plan to merge Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield Universities into a “North East” group and California, Clarion and Edinboro to form a “West” group. According to the plans, the two new entities would get new names, but athletic teams would be kept intact at each school. The goal of the plan is to reduce the cost for a student to graduate from a state system school by 25% in an effort to boost enrollment within state system schools.
APSCUF, the faculty union at the state system, has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but they plan on holding a virtual rally and news conference this afternoon. The PA Senate Appropriations and Education Committees will hold a joint hearing on the plan tomorrow.
