Mansfield U. warns staff of possible layoffs
Amid falling enrollment and budgetary woes, Mansfield University says it may consolidate or eliminate certain academic departments and offerings, and the faculty union said management notified it of potential layoffs after the 2017-18 school year.
The developments occurred as a strategic review of Pennsylvania’s struggling state-owned university system began, with a consultant meeting in Harrisburg Wednesday with the State System of Higher Education to start gathering data and plan field work at the 14 member universities, including Mansfield.
The Association of
Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties said a letter of intent from management at Mansfield did not specify the potential number of layoffs or what departments are under review.
“These are difficult decisions affecting people’s lives and they are not taken lightly,” Mansfield President Fran Hendricks said in a statement released by the university.
“Our faculty and staff are all valuable to our university, but we must reinvent ourselves to meet the needs of our students and assure the future of our university.”
Mansfield, in Tioga County, has seen enrollment drop by 35 percent since 2010, to 2,209 students from 3,411.
Word of potential layoffs at the end of the 2017-18 academic year comes at a time of growing anxiety across the 14 universities, most of which also are experiencing enrollment losses and budget problems. They enroll 105,000 students.
The strategic review is expected to yield recommendations by summer's end from the consultant, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
State System leaders have said all options are on the table, including consolidations, mergers or even closing a university.
APSCUF President Kenneth Mash expressed concern about the cuts and lagging support from Harrisburg that he said could do lasting damage to the Commonwealth. “This is not a strategy that will improve the lives of working Pennsylvanians.”
At Edinboro, meanwhile, a review of programs continued with changes expected to be announced later this spring and this fall, officials said.
In addition to Mansfield and Edinboro, the system includes Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester universities.