Pennsylvania State System board authorizes another loan to Cheyney University, if needed

Cheyney University may need another loan from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education as it awaits reimbursement for student aid from the federal government.

PASSHE’s board of governors on Thursday unanimously and without discussion authorized Chancellor Daniel Greenstein to extend up to a $6 million loan to the historically Black university, if necessary.

Because of prior lapses in the handling of financial aid stemming back more than a decade, Cheyney, which straddles Delaware and Chester Counties, remains on the federal education department’s “heightened cash monitoring” list, which means it doesn’t receive advance payments for student financial aid but instead must request reimbursement.

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“The feds will not consider the next reimbursement until Cheyney has submitted and the feds have reviewed and signed off on the last one,” Greenstein said in an interview before the meeting. “The turnaround time is months.”

Cheyney has not needed system loans since 2018. According to its president, Aaron A. Walton, the school has balanced its budget over the previous four years. If a loan is required closer to the end of the fiscal year, the board will be notified.

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The potential need for a loan is the latest challenge for the university. In November, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Cheyney’s accrediting body, placed Cheyney back on probation for insufficient evidence that it is meeting several required standards.

Middle States cited standards covering ethics and integrity; design and delivery of the student learning experience; and planning, resources and institutional improvement. It also fell short in requirements covering compliance with laws, regulations, and commission policies; financial planning; and budget processes and other areas, the commission said.

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The commission, according to its regulations, places institutions on probation when “there is evidence that the noncompliance is sufficiently serious, extensive or substantial that it raises concern” about the quality of the student learning experience, the school’s capacity to improve within a short time, and the school’s capacity to sustain itself in the long term.

Probation is the second level of action that the commission takes against universities when it has concerns about the schools’ ability to reach compliance. Warnings are the least serious action, while “show cause” — when schools must prove they should keep their accreditation or lose it — is the most serious.

Cheyney was on “show cause” in 2017 and battled back from the brink of losing accreditation. Without accreditation, the school would not have been eligible to receive federal and state financial aid, on which the vast majority of its students depend.

In 2019, it had its accreditation reaffirmed. Key in the decision was then-Gov. Tom Wolf’s pledge to make sure Cheyney’s $40 million debt to the state system and its chancellor’s office was eliminated.

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Walton, state system officials, and some state leaders, including Gov. Shapiro, have called Middle States’ most recent probation decision unfair and said the university has been making progress, including enrollment increases and business partnerships that have provided internship opportunities for students. Walton had said Cheyney increased enrollment to more than 700 students from a low of 469 a few years ago. That includes a 15% boost in freshmen this year.

Greenstein asserted that in making the probation decision, Middle States overturned two of its visitation committees’ recommendations.

The commission in a statement on its website defended its actions and said it would not reconsider its probation decision.

“The Commission has taken action, in accordance with its policies and procedures, to place institutions on non-compliance probation without a warning first based on the evidence before it,” the statement said. “In this matter, the evidence included additional information received from the institution... regarding findings of the United States Department of Education (USDE).”

Greenstein said Cheyney, as well as the other nine universities in the state system, also may face repercussions from ongoing problems with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. The number of high school students filling out the forms was down more than 27% from last year as of March 29, according to the National College Attainment Network, and that could hit schools that serve large segments of students from low-incomes families especially hard.

Nearly one-third of PASSHE’s students were eligible for federal Pell grants targeted to low-income students as of fall 2022, the system said.

“Our schools are doing everything they can to stay in touch with our students and encouraging students to register,” Greenstein said.

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The board of governors at its meeting also approved a new four-year contract for faculty with raises and step increases all four years. A pact for coaches also was approved.

The pacts previously were ratified by the union members.

And, the board awarded its annual Syed R. Ali-Zaidi award to Cheyney student Rukayat Sulaiman. She was recognized for her “positive dedication to academic excellence, service orientation, and continuous personal and professional growth,” as described by Walton. She is the first Cheyney student to receive the award, which was established in 2020.