Penn State and Pitt Discuss Becoming Private Universities in face of slashing of state funds

[JPZenger]

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/pitt-officials-say-university-could-drop-state-related-status/

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/penn_state_explores_going_priv.html

The main effect is that Pa. residents would pay out of state tuition rates. That may happen anyway, because the state is proposing to fund less than $3000 per full-time student for Penn State, and more cuts may be proposed next year. Corbett has said he'd like to eliminate all PA. funding of public universities.

[PA Democrat]

1. Both Pitt and Penn State have talked about closing regional campuses if this happens.

The result will be that higher educatuion will be affordable for fewer and fewer Pennsylvanians. If I had young children, I would be looking to get out of Pennsylvania.

[tularetom]

2. What could possibly go wrong with THAT idea?

I can just see the Koch Bros., Sheldon adelson and other rich right wing nut jobs, salivating over their chance to take over a large established institution, fire all the "liberal" faculty members and staff the place with corporate propagandists.

This suggestion should be shoved right up the poop chute of whatever moran dreamt it up.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. This wouldn't be "privatization" in that sense. The Univ. corporations already exist.

It would be more like dissolving a partnership. The U's would probably lose some properties and trademarks, but continue with their governing boards largely intact. Since they have large endowments (property of the Univ. corporation, not the state) and cover the majority of their own budgets already, it would mean a few lean years, but the U's would not be sold.

Pitt started off as a private institution, and the terms of its incorporation into the state system very likely include language to cover the eventuality of a severing of ties with the state. Don't know if the same is true of Penn State.

Personally, I think that if Norderberg stays on at Pitt unencumbered by dealing with Harrisburg loonies, Pitt could really benefit.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. These two "semi-private" universities would be better off without state affiliation.

Every couple of years the climate in the State House changes, and Pitt gets whipsawed by alternating lean and fat years. It's really hard to make long-term plans of any kind when the budget is never safe from cuts even at the last second.

Any idea what % of U. budget is covered by PA? The smaller that number gets, the greater the tempation of U's to break away from the state. Here in AL, UAH is getting only 10% of its funding from the state, and there's already consideration of UAH leaving the state system.