Private colleges in Western Pa. eye shared services, cooperative purchasing

Apparently for colleges in and around Pittsburgh, the idea of joining forces is worth a look.

With enrollment at many colleges dropping and cost pressures growing, several private colleges in Western Pennsylvania have been considering whether they ought to form a consortium to share services and make joint purchases.

For years, experts have predicted that lower enrollment of 18- to 22-year-old students, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, would prod institutions toward collaboration or even mergers.

But the subject is a thorny one for reasons of institutional identity and potential job loss.

This attempt has been no exception.

At least two institutions, Robert Morris University and Washington & Jefferson College, say they are no longer involved in the study led by former Point Park University President Paul Hennigan, who is now a senior management consultant with The Hill Group. The study was commissioned through a foundation grant.

John Knapp, president of Washington & Jefferson, said those leading the study misrepresented the participants’ objectives.

“While we were pleased that the study showed how we might benefit from pooled purchasing power, I want to make it clear that W&J never agreed with the consultants’ ideas for consolidating operations that would result in employee layoffs,” Knapp wrote in a note to campus, which was released by W&J on Oct. 5. “In fact, the only project we agreed to further explore was the possibility of a jointly purchased software product.

“Regrettably, those leading the study made statements misrepresenting the intentions of W&J and other participating institutions,” he added. “In response, we are among several institutions that have now withdrawn from this consortium altogether.”

At least seven other institutions are still involved.

Allegheny College, Chatham University and La Roche University told the Tribune-Review they are open to opportunities for joint purchasing of goods or services but have not committed.

Seton Hill is exploring shared purchasing and other opportunities, but they “will not involve the loss of jobs at our institution,” spokeswoman Jennifer Reeger said.

“Seton Hill has engaged in very preliminary discussions with a group of area college presidents and CIOs on ways that we might be able to come together on some joint purchasing and other opportunities in order to pass potential cost savings onto our students,” Reeger said.

Point Park, where Hennigan was president until 2021, is awaiting the study’s results before deciding how to proceed, spokesman Lou Corsaro said. Carlow and Waynesburg universities said their evaluations are in the early stages.

Hennigan declined to be interviewed on the record.

Instead, he released a statement saying that an unidentified philanthropic foundation commissioned a feasibility study for Western Pennsylvania in the summer of 2022.

Among eight potential shared service areas considered, it was determined that group purchasing/procurement and information technology would be most advantageous.

The statement said 17 institutions expressed some interest but named none.

Schools ultimately opting in could join a new nonprofit legal entity, most likely governed by a board of participating college and university presidents.

The statement said “there is no data to suggest that these consortia lead to employee lay-offs at member schools.”

Around the nation, dozens of consortia exist offering varied degrees of shared services from purchasing up to joint class registration, shared libraries and other blended operations.

One example is The Claremont Colleges, five undergraduate and two graduate institutions in Claremont, Calif. Its 8,200 students and 3,200 faculty and staff are spread across contiguous campuses.

Each has its own student body, faculty, governance, curricular emphasis, culture and mission, according to its website.

“Intercollegiate cooperation provides university-scale services and facilities,’’ it reads.

Another example are the five institutions in Boston known collectively as the Colleges of the Fenway.

“This collaboration was created to add value to student academic and social life while seeking innovative methods of investing in new services and containing the costs of higher education,’’ its website states.

Chris Brussalis, Point Park’s current president, has an ownership stake in The Hill Group, but Corsaro said the president has retired from the firm and has no active role.

Robert Morris determined its only potential interest “was a potential opportunity to leverage the collective buying power of our institutions to realize savings on software,” spokesman Brian Edwards said.

“It became clear our aims and those of the consortium are no longer aligned and not in any way reflective of our original intent,” he added.