PA schools, oh man, I could write a book.
There was a great thread on the PASSHE schools – the state directionals – from a few years ago, here:
Pennsylvania has already started the consolidation process, but it’s solely the PASSHE schools bearing the brunt. The state-related schools haven’t done jack. (And yes, I am bitter.)
State-related schools in PA are Pitt, PSU, Temple and Lincoln. They are quasi-private, not true state schools. There are TWENTY-FOUR Penn State campuses in this state, some within walking distance of other colleges. And they claw students who want the PSU pedigree from the true state schools, draining enrollment and weakening the entire system. They are demanding more funding these days, but not even considering closing any campuses.
This is a decent article - it’s paywalled, but you get a few free articles, so hopefully it’ll work:
Both my kids went OOS for college. The costs were not competitive in-state. PA’s students pay an average of $26k here. Which explains why more and more kids are leaving to go elsewhere. Usually, they don’t come back.
Why the state legislature doesn’t see this is beyond me. Actually, I think they might be starting to. After years and years of reducing funding, they just started increasing it. We’ll see if it lasts.