Harrisburg – The 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities will participate in a national program designed to provide the public – especially prospective students and their families – detailed information about the universities and how they operate.

The information will be posted on the universities’ websites by early Spring as part of the Voluntary System of Accountability, which was developed in collaboration with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC).The information also will be accessible through the VSA website along with that from other participating colleges and universities.

The VSA program was designed to provide four-year, public colleges and universities the opportunity to demonstrate their accountability and stewardship to the public; to measure educational outcomes and to identify effective educational practices; and to assemble and make available information that is accessible, understandable and comparable.

“PASSHE was among the first public university systems in the United States to develop a comprehensive accountability program,” said Chancellor Judy G. Hample. “Our System Accountability Plan and Performance Funding Program have had a significant impact in driving improvement across the System in key areas related to student achievement, university excellence and operational efficiency.

“We are pleased to be among the first university systems to sign up to participate in this new national effort to promote accountability in public higher education.”

Each of the universities participating in the Voluntary System of Accountability program will develop a “College Portrait,” which will include basic information on the characteristics of the institution and its students, the cost of attendance, student engagement with the learning process and core educational outcomes. The information will be presented in a common format by all participating institutions. The five-page portraits will be divided into three primary sections: consumer information, student experiences and perceptions and student learning outcomes.

The developers of the program used input from student and family focus groups, feedback from the higher education community and research on higher education to determine what information to include in the college portraits. More than 80 higher education leaders from 70 public colleges and universities, including several PASSHE universities, contributed to the VSA’s development.

In addition to prospective students and their families, the information being provided is expected to be utilized by policy-makers, campus faculty and staff, the general public and other higher education stakeholders.

AASCU and NASULGC represent more than 600 public institutions that enroll 7.5 million students and grant 70 percent of the bachelor's degrees awarded in the U.S. each year.

With more than 110,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth.The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 405,000 PASSHE 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. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.