CES redesign plan approved

After six months of review, the state Secretary of Education has approved a redesign plan for all but three Commonwealth Campuses.

The University decided to withdraw the redesign requests for the Beaver , New Kensington and McKeesport Campuses after Hickok said there was insufficient documentation concerning program need at the three campuses.

The secretary was concerned about the University having "unnecessary duplication" of degrees that were already available in a similar form at other campuses in the Pittsburgh area. These include the University of Pittsburgh , Duquesne University , Robert Morris College and others.

The University agreed to a provision calling for enrollment growth at the Abington-Ogontz and Delaware County Campuses to be at the upper-division level. The University also settled to cap freshman enrollment at the 1995 levels for five years at those campuses.

"It's not a turndown. It's a chance for us to do a little homework," said Robert Dunham , senior vice president and dean of the Commonwealth Education System.

The secretary's decision came after six months of consideration and review of the proposal. State law allows Hickok six months to review the proposal, because of the weight of the proposal, said Sean Duffy, spokesman for the Department of Education.

The state requires the secretary's approval whenever a state-related institution wants to change the offerings of a branch campus from two- to four-year degree programs. The University has the option to appeal the decision, but Spanier said it is not planning to do so.

Duffy said it would not have been fair to the University if Hickok had not spent a significant amount of time reviewing the proposal.

"This is a plan that affects 17 campuses in literally every region of the state," he said.

Although the entire plan was not approved, administrators were still pleased with its outcome.

"We feel it is a very positive step forward for Penn State," Spanier said.

Catherine Gannon, campus executive officer at New Kensington Campus, said she was also somewhat content with the approval.

"I view this as a major accomplishment to Penn State to have this plan fundamentally approved," she said.

The approved part of the plan will be in effect July 1 as planned. The University is looking to revise the plan for those three campuses and resubmit it to Hickock by the summer, Spanier said.

However, there are no anticipated dangers of campus closings or faculty layoffs, he added.

The plan, which was originally called "A Plan for Planning" when first developed in 1995, is based on a study of enrollment trends, student demographics and employment projections.

Overall, the University predicts a 2.6 increase in enrollment by 1998.

"At each campus, we will continue to have a variety of students," Dunham said.

Students will still have the freedom to change assignment from one campus to another including University Park, Spanier added

"We will certainly present the opportunity for students to move freely between campuses," Spanier added.

With the redesign, the Abington-Ogontz and Altoona Campuses will both become colleges. In addition, the Berks and Allentown Campuses will become the Berks-Lehigh Valley College and the Schuylkill Campus and Penn State Harrisburg will form the Capital College.

The other 12 campuses will merge as the Commonwealth College, providing additional four-year degree programs.

"Penn State is one University operating at several locations," Spanier said.

The plan was designed to accommodate University students who need access to four-year programs closer to their homes, Spanier said.

Duffy said the secretary's decision was not in any way affected by his position as a member of the University Board of Trustees.

"He didn't vote or speak about the plan while attending Board meetings," he said.