The proposed budget contains a shortfall of about $19.4 million, which will need to be addressed either through a tuition increase or additional cost savings, or a combination of the two.  The Board will consider the various options in the Spring.

“The State System has been engaged for nearly three years in a top-to-bottom review of all of its operations,” said Board Chairman Charles A. Gomulka. “Through what we have called the Systemic Change Initiative, we hoped to improve both the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of our universities.

“We are beginning to see those results.  We believe our 2001-02 appropriations request represents a reasonable and appropriate level of funding to help assure our students and their families continued access to an affordable, high-quality education.”

The Performance Outcomes Plans submitted earlier this year by each of the universities and approved by the Board will serve as business or operating plans for the universities over the next three years.  The plans include specific program objectives, fiscal and enrollment projections and institutional goals.

The State System’s current budget includes performance funding that will be utilized to encourage and reward universities for developing programs that respond specifically to the Commonwealth’s workforce needs, for meeting System goals and for producing positive results in the areas of student advancement, finances and diversity.

“Performance counts in everything we do,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “We expect our universities to operate efficiently while continuing to offer the finest academic programs for our students.”

In addition to the general appropriations request, the Board of Governors also approved several special appropriations requests for next fiscal year.  They are: $19.3 million for the Preparing Pennsylvanians to Compete initiative; $4.5 million in new performance funding; $2 million in matching funds for new scholarship programs; $1.7 million for social equity initiatives; and $464,000 for the McKeever Environmental Learning Center.

The State System’s 2000-01 appropriation included a $19.3 million line item for a “program initiatives” to be determined by the Board of Governors. The majority of the funding was invested in programs designed to address specific workforce needs in the Commonwealth and to implement the new performance funding initiative.

The proposed 2001-02 line item titled Preparing Pennsylvanians to Compete would continue similar programs.  Specifically, funds would be used to help increase the number of students enrolled in high-demand fields, including science and advanced technology, and to reach out to non-traditional students by offering more weekend and evening courses and programs at off-campus sites and through distance education.

Funding from this line item also would be available to the Office of Corporate Alliances (OCA), which was established last year to promote relationships among the universities, business and government to help stimulate workforce and economic development.  The OCA assists universities in the development of training programs for individual employers, economic sectors or potential new customers.

The State System also will continue its efforts to increase program quality through the identification of and support for university “spheres of excellence.” Each university is expected to identify specific program areas in which it excels and to promote those programs statewide.

Additional funds from this line item also would help support the Pennsylvania Academy for the Profession of Teaching, which was established to help enrich and enhance the professional development of educators, especially those in K-12; and the Labor Education Institute.

The $4.5 million requested for performance funding would help continue the results-oriented program that was initiated this year.

The State System is seeking $2 million in “incentive matching funds” from the state to help attract additional dollars from both federal and private sources to establish scholarships for students who enroll in high-demand fields such as math, science and technology.  The matching funds also would help aid the System’s efforts to attract available federal funds for programs designed to improve the quality of teacher training in the state.

The special purpose appropriation for social equity initiatives would provide for the continuation of programs designed to recruit disadvantaged students to System universities, including the widely successful partnership programs with school districts in and around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Erie and Meadville.

The McKeever Environmental Learning Center was created by the Commonwealth in 1974 to assist citizens of all ages in becoming better stewards of the earth’s resources.  The center’s programs are administered by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth.  Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study.  Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.  The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh.  The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.