State System of Higher Education board votes to proceed with integration plan

HARRISBURG, PA – The Board of Governors for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to proceed to the next step in its proposed integration plan which would make Lock Haven, Mansfield and Bloomsburg universities an integrated “Northeast” university with each school maintaining its identity.

The vote followed a two hour meeting which included a presentation from system Chancellor Dan Greenstein. He said the vote to proceed will make the plan available for public comment for 60 days, with a board final vote for implementation at its July meeting. The new set-up would take effect in the fall of 2022.

Greenstein said the integration is needed to provide greater financial stability for the individual universities and the 14-school system. As proposed, he said, students will still maintain “the full advantage of a residential experience with access to a broader range of academic programs.”

Board members raised questions about accreditation for the integrated schools and also about NCAA approval as the schools seek to maintain their existing athletic programs, which is part of the proposal. Greenstein and others involved in the integration process said there has been no final word from the Middle States Accreditation organization and the NCAA on those matters.