Introduction: In October 2024, an Allegheny Institute Policy Brief outlined a number of key problem areas facing the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). PASSHE is comprised of 14 universities across the commonwealth (California, Edinboro, Clarion, Indiana, Lock Haven, Millersville, Slippery Rock, Mansfield, Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, West Chester and Cheyney). Two consolidated universities were created from six universities in recent years: PennWest (California, Clarion, and Edinboro) and Commonwealth (Mansfield, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg).
____________________________________________________________________________________________
That Brief reported on the major long-term slide in applications and enrollment as well as the huge increase in the acceptance rate that was accompanied by substantial lessening of entrance requirements. Indeed, most recently, several schools have dropped SAT or ACT scores as a requirement and some no longer require a minimum high school grade point average. The only enforced requirement at those schools is proof of graduation from high school.
Acceptance rate
The latest available PASSHE acceptance rate data is for the 2024-25 school year. Cheyney had the highest rate of applications accepted at 100 percent. Cheyney also had the poorest academic achievement numbers as well. Eight schools had rates of 90 percent or higher with Edinboro and Clarion reaching 99 percent. California (97); Lock Haven (94); Mansfield (94) and Bloomsburg (95) were followed by Indiana (91) and Kutztown (91). The lowest acceptance rates were posted at West Chester (79); Slippery Rock (75); Shippensburg (85); Millersville (86) and East Stroudsburg (86). Although by some counts East Stroudsburg was 93 percent.
In comparison, according to College Transitions’ 2024 rankings data, the acceptance rate at Penn State was 54 percent and the acceptance rate at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) was 50 percent. By way of comparison, 100th ranked University of Illinois had an acceptance rate of 44 percent. And at 12th ranked University of Pennsylvania (Penn), the acceptance rate was 6 percent for the Ivy League school.
Graduation rate
2024 graduation rates at the PASSHE schools are provided for four-year and six-year graduation. Systemwide, the four-year graduation rate was 40.6 percent in 2016, rose to 43.5 percent in 2019, fell to 41.9 percent in 2023 and moved up slightly to 44.1 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, six-year graduation rates system wide were down slightly over the period, falling from 60.5 percent to 59.2 percent, with only Shippensburg and Cheyney posting gains. Indeed, Cheyney’s huge jump from 15.2 percent in 2018 to 40.6 percent graduation rates in 2024 was, no doubt, responsible for the system decline over the period being only 1.3 percentage points.
West Chester, at 70.5 percent, had the highest six-year rate in the 2024 PASSHE graduation rates. Slippery Rock at 65.6 percent was second highest with most other schools in the 50s. The schools that make up PennWest and Commonwealth were not shown separately. East Stroudsburg, at 43.1 percent, was second lowest after Cheyney.
In comparison, Penn State’s graduation rate was 86 percent while Pitt’s rate was 84 percent. Meanwhile, Duquesne University, 235th ranked by College Transitions, had a 75 percent graduation rate in 2024. 12th ranked Penn posted a 97 percent graduation rate.
Enrollment
This fall, the PASSHE system saw its first enrollment increase in many years, rising 0.6 percent to 83,000. Note that enrollment peaked in the 2010-11 school year at 119,512, fell to 107,386 in 2015-16 and plunged further over the next nine years to 82,509 in 2024-25. The minor pickup this fall does little except maybe end the long slide.
It is noteworthy that PASSHE estimates of Pennsylvania high school graduates picked up in the last couple of years. After sliding significantly over the 10 years 2010-11 to 2020-21, the high school graduates’ count has been edging higher and in school year 2025-26 will be up by almost 4,000 above the low point. After that, the slide will resume with projections for the next 10 years showing a further drop to 10,000 high school graduates per year compared to 2025-26. Since historically the bulk of students at PASSHE schools are Pennsylvania high school graduates, the falling graduate count projections do not bode well for future enrollment.
Indeed, the latest enrollment release from PASSHE emphasizes the improvement in retention of last year’s freshman class for their second year. There was no emphasis, or easy to find mention, of the current freshman enrollment.
Competition for freshman enrollees will get ever more difficult as schools compete for dwindling numbers. Thus, there will be greater emphasis on retention and graduate school programs to maintain enrollment levels.
Part of the strategy to maintain enrollment, and encourage new enrollment, has been to freeze tuition. That can work for a while as long as the state provides enough supplementary funding to cover the inevitably rising costs the system and individual universities will face due to inflation in employment, building and other costs.
Conclusion
PASSHE, along with other higher education institutions in Pennsylvania and across the country, will face growing difficulties maintaining enrollment levels, Several PASSHE schools that have already lowered entrance requirements about as far as they possibly can—and have thereby lowered their standing among higher education peers—will find the next ten years very difficult to manage.
