State higher-education leaders ask for new funding as enrollments fall, capital backlog grows

Acting Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education interim Chancellor Chris Fiorentino and leaders of the state’s community colleges testified to the House Appropriations Committee that longstanding enrollment declines, aging facilities and new workforce needs make additional state funding necessary ahead of the fiscal-year budget.

Fiorentino told the committee that the system has “lost a third of our enrollments” since about 2014 and said state support has become a larger share of the universities’ operating budgets; he added the system is transferring in excess of 95% of credits from community colleges to PASHE schools. Quentin Bullock, president of the Community College of Allegheny County, and other community college leaders described efforts to increase adult enrollment, expand workforce certificates and add partnerships with local employers.

Why it matters: Lawmakers pressed university and college leaders on how state funding would be used amid consolidation of some universities, a multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar deferred maintenance backlog at community colleges and rising student nonacademic needs. Committee members questioned whether proposed increases in the governor’s budget would be sufficient and whether new program requests — including $5 million for noncredit workforce development and $5 million for first‑responder training — should be prioritized.

University consolidation, enrollments and transfers

Interim Chancellor Chris Fiorentino said consolidations — including the Commonwealth University and PennWest groupings — aim to preserve access in rural areas and create administrative efficiencies, but warned the work is “a 5‑ to 7‑year undertaking.” He said the system has seen long-term demographic pressures: “We have lost a third of our enrollments…from around 2014 to the current year,” and projected further declines in traditional-age high school graduates.

Fiorentino also told members that credit transfer from community colleges is working at high rates: “we are transferring in excess of 95% of the credits of students who are coming from community colleges to PASHE schools,” and that the system is examining the remaining gaps.

Community colleges: workforce training, deferred maintenance and program flexibility

Quentin Bullock and other community college leaders said their institutions have been “right‑sizing” in response to a long enrollment decline and pointed to examples of new employer partnerships. Bullock described an electric vehicle technician program launching at CCAC and apprenticeship and mechatronics training tied to local employers. Nick Newpauer, vice president for the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, told the committee the sector has identified roughly $360,000,000 in deferred maintenance needs across the 15 community colleges and said colleges are balancing upkeep with investments in new technology and training facilities.

Several presidents described noncredit and short‑course workforce education as a rapid response to employer demand, but they cautioned that many of those courses are not eligible for Pell or Title IV and can be cost‑prohibitive for students. Colleges are seeking state help to make short, stackable certificates accessible: the sector requested $5 million for noncredit workforce development and $5 million for first‑responder/public‑safety training in the budget submitted to the General Assembly.

Student supports, dual enrollment and FAFSA challenges

Speakers told the committee about student basic‑needs programs: campus food pantries, emergency funds, bus passes, residence halls kept open between terms for students without other housing and partnerships with organizations such as Single Stop. Fiorentino said many universities and colleges now keep food pantries on campus and work to ensure students have access to emergency services.

Representatives asked about dual‑enrollment growth. Community college leaders said roughly 22,000 high‑school students participated across the sector in 2022–23 and argued dual enrollment provides a direct pathway into postsecondary credentials and workforce programs. Fiorentino said PASHE has smaller but growing dual‑enrollment numbers and reported faster graduation rates among students who took dual‑enrollment courses.

Lawmakers also raised problems tied to PHEAA and FAFSA systems: college officials said delays in federal/state financial aid processing and software conversions caused stress for some students and required colleges to move back deadlines and provide manual assistance in a limited number of cases.

Budget requests and next steps

Committee members cited the governor’s budget proposals in questioning. Chairman Struzzi and others noted the governor proposed a 6.5% increase to PASHE funding (about $40 million) and that community colleges seek a larger package that includes an operating increase and capital funds, plus the two $5 million program requests. College leaders said the governor’s proposal would not fully meet their sector asks and warned that flat funding would limit capital projects, leased facility payments and noncredit program support.

No formal actions or votes occurred during the hearing; leaders were asked to return materials and to provide follow‑up on questions such as the number of colleges using project labor agreements and specific program‑by‑program consolidation plans.

Ending

Committee members thanked the panel and recessed; staff and witnesses were instructed to send requested information and examples of programs and capital project lists as the appropriations process continues.