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    In Pennsylvania, which has the second-most private colleges in the nation, moves to better target delivery of higher education will have implications not only for legions of public classroom students but for those on private campuses, too. The state’s 90-plus private institutions enroll about 290,000 students, 42 percent of the state’s market, and they award 49 percent of the degrees from associate to doctoral level, according to the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. Its president, Don Francis, said Friday that his group has not taken any position on the review getting underway across the 14 state-owned universities, a process that could lead to shifts in classroom offerings, consolidation or other moves. Nevertheless, he said he hopes the State System of Higher Education and the state itself understand that their decisions will be felt beyond the 14 universities, beset with enrollment and financial woes. His members face many of the same issues that public campuses do, including population decline and fewer high school graduates. “It’s good to keep in mind that any changes to the State System will have an impact on private institutions, as well as the state-related institutions, and the community colleges,” Mr. Francis said. “All the sectors should be considered before any final recommendations are implemented.” Kenn Marshall, a State System spokesman, said chancellor Frank Brogan has expressed a similar interest. In remarks to the Legislature and elsewhere, Mr. Brogan has said greater dialogue should occur with private campuses, as well as with two-year schools and the state-related campuses of the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln universities. “Everybody who is involved in higher education is technically competition,” Mr. Marshall said. “I think [Mr. Brogan] would prefer to see us collaborate more.” A 2012 consultant’s study for the State System by Maguire Associates of Concord, Mass., found that among students who turned down a State System of
    6 years ago by @prophe
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    HARRISBURG – This may be a growing trend in Pennsylvania: private colleges and universities are doing something to bring back students and families scared away by the sky-high cost of higher education. In some cases, tuition plus room and board can cost $50,000, $60,000, even $70,000 a year. As a result, enrollment is down. “Sticker shock is an issue. In fact, some research suggests 60 percent of parents and students will rule out a school based on just the price,” said Don Francis of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. To get students back on campus, private schools are either slashing or freezing tuition. Immaculata University near Philadelphia is reducing tuition from $34,400 to $26,500 a year. At LaSalle, tuition is down from $40,400 to $28,800, and Rosemont College on the Main Line reduced tuition to $18,500 from $31,500. Rosemont also knocked $1,900 off room and board. Other schools like Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Manor College, Wilson College in Chambersburg, and the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology have decided to freeze tuition. It appears to be working. Many of the schools report enrollment numbers are going up. After Rosemont cut tuition and room and board, applications soared by 64 percent and actual enrollment jumped by nearly 15 percent. The AICUP also launched the “Just Apply” campaign. The message: students just don’t know what the college will offer unless they apply. “Many students will discover if they apply to private institutions that institution will cost maybe less, maybe the same, and maybe slightly more than a public institution,” Francis said.
    6 years ago by @prophe
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