tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132657781219607153.post2782098579821233059..comments2024-03-27T08:17:22.445-04:00Comments on Chancellor's Blog: Changing togetherPennsylvania's State System of Higher Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07400532400819969260noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132657781219607153.post-90077824939248453642018-11-08T01:06:27.531-05:002018-11-08T01:06:27.531-05:00Everyone should work toward "Pennsylvania Pro...Everyone should work toward "Pennsylvania Promise"!!!!jimbrobean@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13848270401626193044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132657781219607153.post-90134225090031922862018-11-07T15:14:09.598-05:002018-11-07T15:14:09.598-05:00Who are our students? What does success look like?...Who are our students? What does success look like? <br /><br />Like myself, a large percentage of our students are first-generation, lower-income, hard-working students. The State System has the potential to change the trajectory of our students' lives. Our students and their families invest in us because they realize the State System represents an instrument for positive change. The State System is the fulcrum by which our students are able to elevate themselves professionally and personally. Like us, our students' success will ultimately be measured by the positive impact they make on society. It's an honor to work for a system that has such great potential to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01070345254461747743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132657781219607153.post-17990519479158241562018-11-07T14:20:47.595-05:002018-11-07T14:20:47.595-05:00You asked, is the state system, "a regulatory...You asked, is the state system, "a regulatory body...? Or is it... an entity that looks for creative ways to enable its 14 very powerful brands—each with the deepest roots in specific communities—to survive and thrive, meeting their communities’ distinctive needs by leveraging our distributed capabilities and expertise?"<br /><br />As a professor of 19 years at WCU, I would say that the system must be both. But I would also caution us to think about what our students need. There are many stakeholders in the state system, but there must be agreement about who we serve. The system does not serve the faculty, or the bureaucrats in Harrisburg, or the taxpayers of PA. Taxpayers account for as little as 15-20% of the operating expenses at our universities. If you take into account the full cost to students (housing, food, books), the fraction is even smaller.<br /><br />So what do our students want? I think that's changing. Students want to attend the best university they can get into, at the most affordable price. Although tradition and staying local may play a role in their decision, for most it's not their primary concern. They want the best programs, and most are willing to move a few hundred miles to achieve that.<br /><br />To be blunt, universities and the system must be prepared to close programs that are not meeting their goals so that the best programs may flourish. Campuses must work together to provide opportunities for students across the system, allowing them to transfer into programs at other schools, without needless impediments like transfer credit problems. This means making concerted efforts to align general education goals and courses to serve students, and to make significant accommodations for transfer students. A students grades should follow them from campus to campus, for better or for worse.<br /><br />With this optic, programs can grow where and how they need to grow. At times, we are our own worst enemies. We allow inertia, laziness, insecurity, and resentment to stunt our growth. We must overcome those tendencies, or the system will have to take drastic measures out of necessity, not out of choice.<br />Marc Gagnéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02173634627734317609noreply@blogger.com