Harrisburg, PA – Last week, the 21-member State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) unanimously approved the posting of the Commonwealth’s first ever draft strategic plan for postsecondary education in the Commonwealth. The plan, Driving a Prosperous Pennsylvania: A Statewide Agenda for Higher Education, aims to increase postsecondary attainment, ensure affordable pathways to postsecondary credentials, support the economic and workforce development needs of Pennsylvania, strengthen the fiscal health and stability of the higher education sector, and more.
This year, the SBHE gathered input from more than 1,200 individuals via regional hearings, small group meetings and an online survey to inform the development of the draft strategic plan. The plan will be available for public comment until January 20, 2026, at which point the SBHE will work to finalize its first ever plan for higher education
On Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the draft plan’s approval for posting.
Excerpts from the article:
“The plan outlines the challenges facing the higher education sector including another coming decline in the high school population, financial constraints, and the lack of coordination among institutions. Student debt averages more than $40,000 per student in Pennsylvania, the plan notes.
[The plan] emphasizes expanding funding for dual credit programs and enrollment in those programs to streamline the path from high school to college and allow students to accumulate more credits before they graduate high school. In addition, the plan proposes studying how to improve retention rates and focusing on reenrolling adults who started college but didn’t finish; there are more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians with some college.
Among its plans for addressing affordability are support of policies that ‘expand financial aid and forgive debt for in-demand, high-quality credentials,’ take advantage of new federal Pell grants for workforce programs and boost access to ‘open educational resources’ to reduce the cost of course materials.
The report also discusses the intent to ‘maximize the impact of research universities,’ recruit out-of-state students to broaden the talent pool and increase access to paid work experiences for students.
To promote fiscal health, the plan recommends identifying and promoting best practices for fiscal efficiency and cost savings, and developing resources and an advisory group to help financially struggling colleges.
After the public comment period and final adoption of the plan, the board intends to report progress toward the goals annually and consider revisions in the plan every five years.”
Quotes about the plan:
“This plan is intended to be dynamic and enable the Board and its partners to be nimble and meet the challenges and opportunities as they crop up.” – Cindy Shapira, SBHE Board Chair
“As this plan rolls out, there is a strong emphasis on partnership and coordination, which is completely in line with the mission and spirit of the board.” – Dr. Kate Shaw, SBHE Executive Director
“The focus is on prosperity in Pennsylvania. I think we can all get behind that.” – Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe
“We had over 1,200 people share their thoughts on higher education, and I think that really shows you how important higher education is to the people of Pennsylvania.” – Kevin Washo, University of Pittsburgh
“I think it’s going to take a lot of collaboration to meet the goals of the plan. But we are headed in the right direction.” – Mary Louise Esten, Temple University