If Elected Officials Cared about PASSHE Students, What Would be Different? - Part 5

Malfeasance by the PASSHE Board of Governors

 
The following assertions were put forth last week regarding PASSHE governance board members:

·         “All 20 members of the PASSHE Board of Governors, and all 154 members spread across the 14 PASSHE Councils of Trustees, have taken a public oath of office that requires them to obey the law.”

·         “The PASSHE Board of Governors has since 2002 openly & shamelessly failed to live up to that oath.”

·         “Public officials commit ‘malfeasance’ when they do something illegal, unlawful, or contrary to law.”

·         “The malfeasance by the PASSHE Board of Governors is easy to document because the flawed actions by members of the Board of Governors violate not just the spirit but the letter of the law.”

·         “The details of that violation of the letter of the law (Act 188) involve, among other things, PASSHE leaders publicly acting as if the law requires the Board of Governors to maintain ‘the lowest possible tuition,’ i.e., sticker price, when in fact Act 188 explicitly requires them to maintain ‘the lowest possible cost to the students,’ i.e., ‘the lowest possible bottom line!’”  (Emphasis added.)

“Your words become your actions.”

                           Mahatma Gandhi

 
The degree of alignment between words and actions is quite revealing.  When actions are contradictory to or substantially different from ones words, deception is often indicated and may in fact be involved.  
 
But when ones words and actions are totally aligned, it suggests that the actions were intentional, and that the results of those actions were, in fact, the intended results.  
 
In this case, we have provided compelling evidence from official PASSHE data which proves that the statutory purpose of Act 188, ‘High quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students,’ has not been delivered by the Board of Governors to the PASSHE students since 2002.
 
It logically follows that the actions taken by the PASSHE Board of Governors—the decision-makers of record—are the cause of PASSHE’s failure to deliver ‘High quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.’  We will now attempt to ascertain if the results of those actions were in fact intended.
 
To do that, we must consider the words of PASSHE’s leaders and compare them to Act 188¹ in regard to PASSHE’s statutory purpose: “High quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.”   

In Their Own Words

·         Quotes from the PASSHE News Release² of June 30, 2011: “Despite the severe fiscal challenges we face, we are committed to offering high quality, affordable education to our students,” said Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini.” (Emphasis added.)

 
“Affordable education to our students” is different from “the lowest possible cost to the students.”
 
·         Quotes from the PASSHE News Release³ of July 9, 2012: “This action demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our students and their families, and to the Commonwealth,” said PASSHE Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini. “PASSHE universities will continue to offer high-quality education at the most affordable cost possible.”  (Emphasis added.)
 
“The most affordable cost possible” is different from “the lowest possible cost to the students.”
 
·         Quotes from the PASSHE News Release⁴ of July 9, 2013:  “It is very important to our students and their families that we keep our tuition affordable,” said Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini. “With this action today, PASSHE universities will continue to provide outstanding value, combining high-quality educational opportunities with the most affordable cost available.”  (Emphasis added.)
 
The “most affordable cost available” is different from “the lowest possible cost to the students.”
 
·         Quotes from the PASSHE News Release⁵ of July 8, 2014: “’PASSHE universities offer tremendous value to students and their families, providing a unique combination of high-quality educational opportunities and the most affordable cost available,’ said Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini.”  (Emphasis added.)
 
The “most affordable cost available” is different from “the lowest possible cost to the students.”

PASSHE’s New Strategic Plan⁶

The first paragraph of the January 23, 2014 News Release announcing the Board of Governors’ approval of PASSHE’s new Strategic Plan, “2020: Rising to the Challenge,” reads as follows:

 
“Harrisburg – The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) today approved a new strategic plan that will enhance and expand student learning opportunities and ensure the Commonwealth receives the greatest possible return on its annual investment in the System and its 14 universities.”  (Emphasis added.)
 
Note the Board of Governors’ concern about the Commonwealth’s return on its “minority” (25%) annual investment in PASSHE.  However, no concern is cited about the return on the majority (75%) investment each year by PASSHE’s “Majority Stakeholders,” i.e., by PASSHE’s students, parents and alumni donors.

Act 188 vs. PASSHE’s New Strategic Plan

Here is a direct quote from Act 188:

 
“Section 20-2003-A. Purposes and General Powers
(a) The State System of Higher Education shall be part of the Commonwealth’s system of higher education. Its purpose shall be to provide high quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students. The primary mission of the System is the provision of instruction for undergraduate and graduate students to and beyond the master’s degree in the liberal arts and sciences and in applied fields, including the teaching profession.” (Emphasis added.)

This paragraph from Act 188 contains two key sentences: the 2^nd sentence describes the “statutory purpose” of PASSHE’s 14 Universities; and the 3^rd sentence describes PASSHE’s “primary mission.” 

 
Below are two direct quotes from PASSHE’s new Strategic Plan that parallel Act 188’s two sentences:
 
“VISION
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education seeks to be among the nation’s leading systems of public universities recognized for (1) excellence, relevance, and value in education; and (2) responsiveness to regional, state, and national needs through its programs, service, scholarship, and research.”
 
Note that the text under “Vision” in the Strategic Plan is totally different from the first sentence of the “Purposes and General Powers” section of Act 188.  It makes no mention of Act 188, and totally leaves out PASSHE’s statutory purpose: “It’s purpose shall be to provide high quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.”

“MISSION
‘The primary mission of the System is the provision of instruction for undergraduate and graduate students… in the liberal arts and sciences and in applied fields…’
Act 188 of 1982”
 
Note that the text under “Mission” in the Strategic Plan is a redacted version of the second sentence—Left out are these words from Act 188: “including the teaching profession.”

To be continued.

¹ https://www.keepandshare.com/doc/6772880/act188-pdf-405k.

² https://www.keepandshare.com/doc/7490737/passhe-news-release-june-30-2011-pdf-129k.
³ https://www.keepandshare.com/doc/7490738/passhe-news-release-july-9-2012-pdf-133k.
⁴ https://www.keepandshare.com/doc/7490739/passhe-news-release-july-9-2013-pdf-133k.
⁵ https://www.keepandshare.com/doc/7490740/passhe-news-release-july-8-2014-pdf-147k.
⁶ https://www.keepandshare.com/doc/7490741/strategic-plan-2020-rising-to-the-challenge-10-14-pdf-2-1-meg.