Ship U adapts to survive as state colleges face crisis - Jim Hook, Public Opinion News

Enrollment is slipping, tuition costs are soaring. State funding has been flat. The 14 colleges in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are in trouble. “The system as it exists today is not sustainable,” Chancellor Frank T. Brogan recently told lawmakers. Everything is on the table as the system evaluates itself. State lawmakers may undertake their own study. Campus mergers or closings are possible. Shippensburg University has not been immune to system’s woes. Enrollment peaked at SU in 2010-11. Since then, the student population has dropped 16 percent. Tuition is up 45 percent. The university’s operating budget increased 8 percent. SU is on par with the other campuses in PASSHE when it comes to the numbers -- enrollment, budgeting and construction. Supporters say SU’s academics stand out. http://www.publicopiniononline.com/story/news/local/2017/03/11/ship-u-adapts-survive-state-colleges-face-crisis/98598790/