By SUSAN JONES
The new State Board of Higher Education held its fourth meeting last month and has an ambitious goal of presenting a strategic plan for Pennsylvania’s vast higher education industry by this fall.
Kevin Washo, Pitt’s senior vice chancellor for university relations and a member of the board, said it’s too early to get into specifics of what that plan might contain, but he said, “We’ve got a great team. ... We’ve got a great mix of industry leaders within higher ed; we’ve got four amazing legislative representatives as well, and a few other folks from the economic development arm of the Commonwealth. It’s a great group, and truth be told, it’s a great conversation so far.”
Washo is one of 21 members of the board. He heads its bylaws committee, which makes sure the board is following the law that created it.
“One of the main tenets of the legislation is we’re going to be tasked with promoting high quality, accessible and affordable post-secondary education,” at all types of institutions, Washo said. The board is made up of people from private and public colleges, including the state-related schools, Pa. State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and community colleges.
“We’re going to try to come up with ideas and thoughts and recommendations that are going to be best suited for Pennsylvania,” he said. “Because of our unique system with the state-relateds, the state system (PASSHE) and the community colleges and independents and the privates, we’ve got our unique challenges, but also unique opportunities.”
Some of the areas they are looking at include:
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How to increase collaboration between the higher ed institutions on credit transfer and dual enrollment.
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How to utilize student-level data to determine what’s working and what’s not.
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What are the workforce needs in Pennsylvania now and what will they be in 2035, and how do institutions of higher learning help with that?
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What is the future of Pennsylvania look like based on the data and how does the state stay competitive across the country?
So far, the board has met in person in Harrisburg, but soon they’ll be going to different areas of the state to talk to interested parties.
“I know everyone on the committee is excited to get out and hear from people across the commonwealth on what they think we need to do in terms of next steps,” Washo said. “And we’re also bringing in experts from other states and hearing what other states have done for best practices.”
The legislation creating the board, which was introduced by Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh), said that, “The lack of statewide coordination or a strategic vision aligned to the needs of Pennsylvanians has led to too much competition and duplication in some parts of the commonwealth, and too little access to postsecondary education in others.”
Washo said the board has given him an opportunity to collaborate and think creatively on areas of concern to the state-related universities — Pitt, Penn State and Temple — that are outside of the annual appropriation cycle.
Performance-Based Funding Council
The legislature last year also created a Performance-based Funding Council, which is specifically focused on developing a funding formula for the three large state-related universities — Pitt, Penn State and Temple.
It is chaired by House Republican leader Rep. Jesse Topper (Bedford and Fulton counties) and also includes Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr. (R-Cambria and Centre), Costa, Schweyer and Angela Fitterer, interim acting secretary of education. Representatives from the three universities — including Dwayne Pinkney, Pitt’s senior vice chancellor for administration and finance/chief financial officer — serve as non-voting members.
Pinkney said in a statement that the University looks forward to working with the Performance-based Funding Council, the commonwealth, colleagues at Penn State and Temple universities, and other stakeholders.
The council is looking at metrics that will support a performance-based funding model for the three state-related research universities.
“We believe such a formula will provide benefits to the people of the commonwealth, including students and their families, and such a model will better align the state-related universities with Pennsylvania’s strategic direction and priorities,” Pinkney said.
“We believe performance matters, and Pitt’s outcomes in areas such as graduation and placement rates and research expenditures will demonstrate that we are fulfilling our primary mission.”
That group has already held meetings at Penn State and Temple and will be at Pitt on Feb. 19 (time and location have not been announced yet). The legislation gives the Performance-based Funding Council until April 30 to present a new funding formula.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal includes $60 million for these performance-based incentives for Pitt, Penn State and Temple. The budget also includes funding at the same level as last year, which for Pitt was $151.5 million.
Pitt has previously said that such performance benchmarks would increase accountability and transparency while creating pathways for increased state funding for Pitt.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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