There are two reasons why PASSHE’s universities are under severe financial stress. The first is the rapid decline in enrolment – and the tuition dollars students bring with them – that started a decade ago. The number of students enrolled in the PASSHE system has fallen by more than 25,000 since 2010 when it stood at 119,500. As was the case in Minnesota a few years ago and is the case in Wisconsin, and as Shapira made clear in the case of Pennsylvania, the push to consolidate state universities is driven by the desire to save money – which is a necessity, given the perilous state of PASSHE’s finances. At one point earlier this year, half of PASSHE’s institutions had less than a six-month supply of cash on hand.
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2021082011023382
