Cal U, Edinboro, Clarion plot 3-way higher education partnership

California, Clarion and Edinboro universities — three state-owned schools that have suffered significant enrollment losses over the last decade — are forming a partnership they hope will create a powerhouse in the state’s public university system.

In a joint announcement Monday, the presidents of the three universities said the partnership “will affiliate and build on their institutional strengths” to expand opportunities for students, create efficiencies and position themselves for hope.

This comes just two months after officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) announced a redesign for six state-owned schools to affiliate in three partnerships — California and Clarion; Slippery Rock and Edinboro; and Lock Haven and Mansfield.

The move to seek a three-way partnership in Western Pennsylvania comes midway through a financial review of the previously proposed partnerships.

The new approach follows a decade during which enrollment at PASSHE schools tumbled 20% across the system and by 27%-46% at the the universities targeted for the three-way partnership.

The declines, spurred in part of demographic changes, prompted officials to increase tuition by 32% over the last nine years and reduce staff through early retirement incentives and program cuts.

PASSHE Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the partnerships are a way to maintain and expand offerings beyond what any of the single universities can provide.

“We’ve been clear since the start – the data and analysis will ultimately drive us toward the right combination of universities,” Greenstein said. “Today, after carefully reviewing initial data, we’ve seen clearly that integrating three universities into a single entity provides the best opportunity for students and for the future success of public higher education in the western region of Pennsylvania.

“We remain at the start of a historic effort meant to honor the traditions and identities of each participating university while ensuring they continue into the future as engines of social mobility and economic development. We look forward to consulting with campus stakeholders, local community leaders, and elected officials across the state in the weeks and months to come,” he said.

“Collectively, we would be among the largest providers of higher education in Western Pennsylvania. Through collaboration, we can serve our region even better, meeting the needs of all who will benefit from access to affordable, high quality education,” Geraldine Jones, president of California University said.

Clarion and California already are sharing programs in physics and Spanish via online enrollment. Meanwhile, Clarion and Edinboro have collaborated on a graduate program in nursing.

“An integration that includes California, Clarion and Edinboro will provide great opportunities for our current and future students,” said Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, president of Clarion University.

“In addition to supporting our traditional and legacy face-to-face residential programs, we’ll work collaboratively to create an online program that is truly unique.”

“This combination will be a good fit for all three universities, given their histories of serving students with diverse economic backgrounds and offering them transformative experiences that lead them to places they may never have imagined,” said Edinboro University President Guiyou Huang.

It’s unclear how the pandemic has affected enrollment at the three universities that collectively enrolled about 16,300 students last fall.

Cal U, Clarion and Edinboro are all operating via online learning this fall in an effort to mitigate the spread of covid-19.