Penn State taps consultant to assess academic programs

Penn State University has hired a consultant to help determine “if it is teaching the right courses in the right places,” given shifting enrollments and employer demand.

Hanover Research, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is expected to begin work in early October on the university’s Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) initiative, university officials announced.

The process likely will influence how resources including teaching staff are deployed going forward, and thus it is being closely watched, not only at University Park but across Penn State’s 19 branch campuses statewide. Most have absorbed enrollment losses of 24% in aggregate the last decade, with some campuses down nearly 50% in keeping with trends in the Midwest and Northeast.

The main campus, meanwhile, is poised to add classroom space for 800 additional students amid strong demand there.

The review is running parallel to a Penn State effort to eliminate a universitywide budget deficit and create a more sustainable financial model. Officials say they hope the academic review process will inform future efforts to assess academic programs. A final report could be delivered to the provost’s office for review in the spring.

“We are looking forward to Hanover assisting on the APPR project and working with them to help provide data analysis we can use to help plan for the future,” Elizabeth Wright, a regional chancellor and chief academic officer of Penn State Hazleton, Penn State Scranton and Penn State Wilkes-Barre, said in a statement. She is helping guide the process.

Hanover representatives could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

On its website, Hanover lists clients ranging from New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College in the Ivy League, to large and small public and private campuses in states from New York and Idaho to Texas, among others.

“Our solutions help institutions identify the programs that will appeal to the most likely applicants and prepare them for the workforce,” its website states. “Hanover helps optimize existing programs and launch new ones strategically.”

Academic program reviews can be fraught, given their impact on an institution’s future. In assessing demand, administrators wade through data on disciplines from engineering, allied health and business to the humanities.

A year ago, West Virginia University was in a battle over what programs should stay or go as the flagship institution in that state grappled with enrollment and financial concerns.

At Penn State, a faculty and staff buyout program this spring led to a 10% employee reduction on its Commonwealth Campuses (what Penn State calls its branch campuses).

In Western Pennsylvania, they include Penn State New Kensington in Upper Burrell, Penn State Greater Allegheny on the border of McKeesport and White Oak, Penn State Beaver and Penn State Fayette, the Eberly campus, as well as Penn State Shenango.

Some of those vacated positions are being backfilled, and Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Power said last week that no decisions have been made regarding any additional job reductions.

Penn State enrolls about 88,000 students on its main and branch campuses statewide.