One university?

Discrepancies in services leave campuses out in the cold

University official: Hello [insert the name of graduating high school senior who wanted to come to the University]. So, I heard that you wanted to go to Penn State and that you're location-bound because of your finances.

High school senior: Yeah that's right, but I'm planning to go to another school now.

University official: But why? You were accepted at the Delaware County Campus.

High school senior: I heard that a University student organization did a study and the student services at the campus are not comparable to University Park. I found out the services were better at the Delaware County Community College than they are at the DelCo Campus, so I'm going to attend there instead.

University official: But Penn State is one university, geographically distributed. [Showing the student a document] See? It says here, [pointing] it's one of the guiding concepts of the restructuring of the Commonwealth Educational System.

The Council of Commonwealth Student Governments released the results of its study earlier this month. The study compared the costs and student services of other schools to the University's tuition, fees and services and found students pay more for fewer services at CES locations.

It seems black and white, according to the CCSG study.

For example:

• Delaware County Community College offers career development and placement, personal/crisis counseling and health care on a full-time basis at $58 per credit. The activity fee there is $2 per credit per semester.
  

• The DelCo Campus costs $2,631 per semester plus the $25 student activity fee and the $70 computer fee. But it does not provide on-campus health services.
  

Is there no extra money to improve the services at the campuses because the state is not giving the University the money it needs?

When the University has needed money in the past, the answer seemed pretty obvious: fund raising.

Fund raising got us the Sports Hall of Fame and The Bryce Jordan Center. Fund raising will help the University pay for the HUB/Paul Robeson Cultural Center expansion, construction of the Paterno Library and Pattee renovation.

Perhaps if the University hit up some of the Commonwealth Campus alumni who loved their CES days, they could dig deep into their pockets to improve the services at their alma mater.

If the fund raising proves successful, and if Commonwealth Campuses get the full services they deserve, then the University buzz phrase of "one university, geographically distributed" would really mean something.