We invite the public to attend these regional hearings and contribute to this historic initiative.
Please RSVP your attendance at any of these hearings. Please note that if you cannot attend a hearing in person, we will send you a remote link to access the hearing.
Region | Date | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Central | 3/20/25 | Penn State University Park Nittany Lion Inn | 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Northeastern | 3/27/25 | Luzerne County Community College Educational Conference Center | 1:00-3:00 p.m. |
Southeastern | 4/17/25 | St. Joseph’s University Mandeville Hall Teletorium | 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Southwestern | 4/24/25 | Community College of Allegheny County Forester Student Services Building, Auditorium | 1:00-3:00 p.m. |
Northwestern | 5/13/25 | Penn West University Pogue Student Center | 1:00-3:00 p.m. |
Proposed Goals of Pennsylvania’s Strategic Plan for Higher Education
Regional hearings will use the following six draft plan goals, approved by the Board in February, as a starting point for engagement with the public.
Pennsylvania needs to equip more people with high quality postsecondary credentials and to mitigate disparities in attainment across regions and demographic categories. The term “credential” is defined here as any type of postsecondary credential, ranging from short-term certificates to graduate degrees.
The term “affordable” includes the consideration of debt levels, debt to expected earnings ratios, amount of debt accumulated and default rates, tuition and fees, time to credential, true Cost of Attendance, and amount and distribution of financial aid. Policies that reduce cost for postsecondary students, such as eligibility for public benefits, increased appropriations and dual enrollment, are also relevant.
The Department of Community and Economic Development issued a 10-year strategic plan that explicitly identifies the central role that higher education must play in providing the talent needed to ensure a prosperous Pennsylvania. Inclusion of this goal links the higher education agenda to this broader strategy. Postsecondary support for economic development is defined as the ability of the postsecondary sector to create, attract, and retain high-paying employers and industries through research, innovation, credentials, and skills, including both technical as core (sometimes known as “essential” or “soft”) skills.
Workforce development needs are broadly defined as the postsecondary credentials and skills needed to fill current jobs and those likely to exist in the future, presuming no major changes in the Commonwealth’s employment sector. These skills encompass both technical and core (sometimes known as “essential” or “soft”) skills. The Commonwealth’s Department of Labor and Industry’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis (CWIA) is designated by the Governor’s Office as the primary source of labor market information for the commonwealth and as such, collects data that can help define these needs.
One of the duties of the State Board of Higher Education is to collect data and offer recommendations that promote greater postsecondary accountability, including efficient and effective use of State money for higher education. In this context, achieving accountability and efficiency includes tracking and analyzing a range of indicators and outcomes promoting transparency by sharing information, developing policy recommendations related to the distribution of state funding to the postsecondary sector, and using methods to track, assess and communicate this information.
The Board is charged with providing assistance in navigating fiscal challenges to higher education institutions that request it and to recommend strategies to strengthen the sector. Strategies that contribute to this goal include the development of tools and technical assistance (for example, training, coaching and mentoring), policy recommendations that would provide more resources to the sector, protections for students at closed/merged institutions, and efforts to align the sector with other sectors such as business and K-12.