December 21, 2010
PASSHE launches new user-friendly web site designed for students
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – Looking to assist students throughout the college planning process, the Pennsylvania
State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) has launched a new web site that can guide
them from their earliest days of high school through admission and beyond.
The new web site includes a wealth of information to assist potential students and
their families in their college search and selection process. It includes a searchable
directory of all academic programs offered at the 14 PASSHE universities, as well
as information on when and how to begin preparing for college, and how to pay for
it.
“PASSHE exists first and foremost for our students,” said PASSHE Vice Chancellor for
External Relations Karen Ball. “Our number one shared goal is to do everything possible
to help our students succeed in their careers and in their lives. Our new web site
was designed with that goal in mind.”
In fact, students had a direct role in the design of the site. Two recent graduates
of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s acclaimed Communication Design Program helped
create the look and feel of the new site.
The student-oriented site also contains organizational, policy and strategic initiative
information important to PASSHE employees and the general public, as well as links
for potential vendors who wish to do business with the State System. It is a one-stop
shop that can serve as a gateway to Pennsylvania’s public universities.
With a single click of the mouse, users of the new site can go from the newly designed
home page to any of several helpful links to find out what courses they should take
in high school to prepare for college and which PASSHE universities offer the programs
in which they are interested. They also can quickly go to a financial aid planner,
as well as to a separate page designed just for students transferring from a community
college or another four-year college or university.
PASSHE universities are the lowest-cost among all four-year colleges and universities
in Pennsylvania, and the total cost of attendance – tuition, fees, room and board
– is below the national average for all public universities. The vast majority of
their academic programs are accredited by professional organizations nationally, an
important stamp of approval that benefits graduates who seek to go directly into the
job market or who choose to apply to graduate school.
To visit the new PASSHE web site, go to www.passhe.edu.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 120,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities
offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 500,000
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.