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For Immediate Release
January 19, 2012
CONTACT:
Colleen Greer
Phone: 717-787-6801
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Weekly Column: Senate Approves Legislation Reforming Pennsylvania's Higher
Ed System
Almost three decades ago, Pennsylvania's largest provider of higher education was established. This
entity, known as the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), is
the tenth largest university system in the United States and comprises 14
state-owned schools, including universities such as Indiana, Lock Haven, and
Shippensburg, among others. Although other educational establishments receive
public funding, PASSHE institutions are the only colleges and universities in
Pennsylvania that are publicly owned and governed.
Since the enactment of the state law in 1983 calling for PASSHE's creation, higher education has continued to
serve as one of our most dependable economic engines. However, PASSHE faces
several barriers that prevent it from being the workforce powerhouse
Pennsylvania needs. That's why state lawmakers have been working to modernize
and update the statute governing PASSHE, thus increasing its competitiveness as
a result of some proposed changes to the system.
A bipartisan package of six bills was unveiled last year by various members of the
Senate. The legislation is designed to reduce the "mandates" placed upon PASSHE
by providing opportunities for our campus administrators and faculty to raise
new monies for the universities, offer additional programs, and engage in
research. The bills were the subject of a public hearing in October before the
Senate Education Committee which I chair. Last week, three of these bills
received the approval of the full Senate and now head to the House of
Representatives for consideration.
Among the measures of this package is Senate Bill 1133, legislation that would grant all 14 PASSHE universities the
authority to offer professional doctoral degrees with the approval of the PASSHE
Board of Governors. Currently Indiana University of Pennsylvania is the only
PASSHE institution to offer a doctoral program.
Other legislation included in this bipartisan package would permit university faculty
and staff to have the same opportunities for entrepreneurial activity as their
counterparts in other higher education institutions. For example, Senate Bill
1308 authorizes state-owned universities as well as PASSHE employees to enter
into economic development agreements allowing a university to develop and market
intellectual property owned or created by a PASSHE employee. Likewise, Senate
Bill 1322, the third measure approved recently by the Senate, would allow PASSHE
to enter into an agreement with a private entity for cooperative procurement of
supplies and services.
Collectively, these bills are the most substantive pieces of legislation
focusing on the state system since it was formed nearly 30 years ago. The
authors of the PASSHE statute could not have foreseen how this system's role
would need to evolve. As the president of West Chester University stated in his
testimony at our committee hearing last fall, PASSHE needs to be in a better
position to recruit and retain creative faculty and staff, provide students
internship opportunities and mentoring opportunities by entrepreneurs, and
benefit from the creative output of its employees.
To that end, this legislation will enhance the capacity of PASSHE universities
and ultimately better serve the people of this Commonwealth in years to come. |
