Will strike worsen Pa. university system enrollment woes?
Cheyney University had something to celebrate this year.
Cheyney University had something to celebrate this year.
After losing more than half its enrollment in five years, the historically black university saw a 35-student or 4.9 percent increase this fall, while most of the 13 other universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education had declines.
But Cheyney's enrollment challenges — and the challenges of some of the other universities in the state system, entering their third day of a faculty strike — are far from over. The system has lost 12 percent of its enrollment since 2010.
State system officials warned months ago that a prolonged strike could further exacerbate the problem by causing current students to consider transferring —especially if the semester is lost — and discouraging others from applying.
Gov. Wolf sounded a similar warning Tuesday before the strike began, halting education midsemester for the system's 105,000 students.
"We've had several universities that have seen serious declines" in enrollment, said Kenn Marshall, a system spokesman. "They are working very hard to try to recover that enrollment. A prolonged strike could have a serious detrimental effect on those efforts."
Marshall pointed to Temple University, which lost several thousand students and experienced a decline in applications after a 29-day faculty strike in 1990.
Kenneth M. Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties union, said a strike is not the only threat to enrollment.
"Enrollment is going to go down if we don't have quality higher education ... if we don't have quality faculty," he said.
The union and the system remain at odds over salaries and health-care insurance.
While no formal negotiations have been scheduled, Mash said the sides were communicating informally.
"We are working at it," Marshall agreed.
Among the universities that have seen the steepest enrollment declines in addition to Cheyney are Clarion, California, and Edinboro in Western Pennsylvania, and Mansfield in the north-central part of the state. Lock Haven in central Pennsylvania saw an 8.4 percent decline in the last year.
Much of the drop has been driven by a dip nationally in high school graduates. In Cheyney's case, historically black colleges nationally have struggled with enrollment, though many have had a boost recently.
But at Cheyney, which is on the boundary between Chester and Delaware Counties, problems run deeper. The university has struggled financially for years, running a deficit half the size of its operating budget.
In 2015, a state system report said the university had mismanaged financial-aid awards to students and could owe the U.S. Department of Education $29 million. Less than a year ago, its finances landed the university on probation by the body that accredits colleges and universities.
Just six years ago, the university enrolled nearly 1,600 students. This fall, enrollment was 746.
Now, its faculty is on strike.
Cheyney looked like a ghost town Thursday, as one student described it.
"The campus has been very boring," said junior Steve Waddell, 23, a criminal-justice major from Philadelphia. "We're losing a lot right now."
The university is offering professional and recreational activities for students, and some professors are teaching, said interim president Frank G. Pogue.
"We are doing all we can to keep our students on track and engaged," he said.
Many classes were canceled, and students weren't happy.
"I feel like we're collateral damage," said junior Keila Burgos, 25, of Lancaster.
Burgos, a marine-biology major, said she asked a teacher what she could read or work on during the strike and he told her not to do anything.
"I'm lost. I'm just like hanging on a fence," she said. "What if it lasts two weeks? Three weeks? Is the semester going to count?"
Sophomore Michael Mohamed, 20, of New York City, said students were supposed to be having midterms.
"We don't know what to do," he said on a walk across the campus Thursday.
Sports programs also are affected, he said. He's a point guard for the basketball team, and the team hasn't been able to practice because there is no trainer, he said. Trainers belong to the faculty union and are on strike.
"We had a strong week coming into the season and we wanted to keep up that momentum," said Mohamed, a business major.
On the campus perimeter, faculty chanted and waved signs.
Ivan Turnipseed, associate professor and chair of the hospitality and recreation management department, called the strike unfortunate but necessary to get a contract that will attract top faculty talent.
"You can't put students first if you put faculty last," he said, taking a break from the picket line.
He said he was hopeful the strike will not have a detrimental effect on enrollment.
"If anything, maybe it will bring more attention to Cheyney," he said. "Many people probably don't realize that Cheyney is part of the 14-school system. So, in a weird way, it may actually help us."
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