Monday, August 1, 2016

The Gentrification of Public Higher Education - Part 8


Institutional Corruption Defined



As we saw in last week’s blog post, institutional corruption…



“is manifest when there is a systemic and strategic influence which  is legal, or even currently ethical, that undermines the institution’s effectiveness by diverting it from its purpose or weakening its ability to achieve its purpose, including, to the extent relevant to its purpose, weakening either the public’s trust in that institution or the institution’s inherent trustworthiness.”  (Emphasis added.)



We will look at the PASSHE system of fourteen universities—and especially the governance of that system by the Board of Governors in Harrisburg and the fourteen Councils of Trustees at the individual PASSHE campuses—by focusing on Board of Governors’ decisions in light of the above definition.



The fourteen universities include Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

PASSHE’s Ability to Achieve its Purpose


The essence of the above definition of institutional corruption involves an institution’s “ability to achieve its purpose.”  To begin with, it goes without saying that, if an institution is actually achieving its purpose, its leadership could never be legitimately accused of engaging in institutional corruption.



But conversely, if an institution is clearly failing to achieve it purpose, its leadership can legitimately be suspected of engaging in institutional corruption.



As we will show, a suspicion of institutional corruption is clearly warranted in the case of PASSHE’s leadership decisions since the year 2002, and continuing right up to the present moment.



The Purpose of the PASSHE System of Fourteen Universities



The purpose of the PASSHE system of fourteen universities is specified in its enabling legislation, Act 188 of 1982, Section 20-2003-A, Purposes and General Powers, which reads¹ as follows:



“(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.”   (Emphasis added.)



Compelling evidence for PASSHE’s failure to achieve its statutory purpose since 2002 may be seen in the two attached charts: The first chart² shows that during the first thirty years of PASSHE’s existence between 1984 and 2013, PASSHE’s educational quality has been steadily declining since 2002; the second chart³ shows that a PASSHE education is not being delivered by the Board of Governors to PASSHE students at anything like the lowest possible cost to students.



Detailed discussion of the evidence behind these assertions is found in Privatization Without a Plan: A Failure of Leadership in Pennsylvania Public Higher Education.


A Systemic and Strategic Influence



The above definition of institutional corruption also includes reference to “a systemic and strategic influence…that undermines the institution’s effectiveness by diverting it from its purpose.”



In PASSHE’s case, the BOG’s Act 188-defying decision-making since 2002 has been providing the “systemic and strategic influence that undermines PASSHE’s effectiveness by diverting it from its purpose,” which is to provide “high quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.”



The Board of Governors exerts absolute control over the PASSHE system of fourteen universities in ways that are both “systemic and strategic.”



BOG control is systemic in that the fourteen PASSHE presidents report on a daily basis, not to their local Council of Trustees, but to the PASSHE Chancellor—who reports directly to the Board of Governors.



BOG control is strategic in that the overall direction of the PASSHE universities is dictated by the Board of Governors, who directs the Chancellor to direct the presidents to follow the BOG’s strategic plan.
 PASSHE’s History Regarding Strategic Plans



For PASHE’s first 25 years of existence (1984 to 2009), the Board of Governors operated with a series of strategic plans that were sufficiently detailed to provide all PASSHE stakeholders with guidance as to where PASSHE was headed, and what everyone’s role in that ambitious educational journey would be.    



But as described in previous blog posts, the PASSHE Board of Governors then operated for some five years (2009 to 2014) with no strategic plan whatsoever!



During those years, the fourteen universities experienced a period of organizational “drift” during which the PASSHE presidents, I included, were left with little idea of what direction we were to pursue or which major goals we were to achieve. 



Then after five years with no strategic plan, on January 23, 2014 the PASSHE Board of Governors suddenly announced its new 16-page plan⁵ entitled “Strategic Plan 2020: Rising to the Challenge.” 



PASSHE’s New “Purpose” Defies Act-188 and Espouses a Totally Different Direction and Set of Goals



Recall that PASSHE’s statutory purpose from Act 188 is to provide “high quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.”  Recall also that there is compelling evidence that the Board of Governors has failed to deliver Act 188’s statutory purpose to the PASSHE students since 2002.



Prior to 2014, all of PASSHE’s previous strategic plans, including “Leading the Way” which expired in 2009, were faithful to Act 188’s purpose of “high quality at the lowest possible cost to the students.”



But the Board of Governors’ new “Strategic Plan 2020” avoids any mention of those ten words!



PASSHE’s Strategic Plan “2020: Rising to the Challenge” portends a future more sinister than drift alone—this plan ignores Act 188’s statutory vision and replaces it with its own narcissistic 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.”²



Note that the word “student” never appears in the PASSHE Board of Governors’ new Vision Statement!



The Board of Governors has made it official—the fourteen universities are no longer about the PASSHE students; they are about the elected and appointed officials who control them.



To be continued.







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