RECEIVED FEB 2 8 2020 Expert Report of Dr. James J. Linksz PA STRTEBOARD eo ahenn wan 10 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 at 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 March 18, 2020 Hearing Regarding The Proposal for the Establishment of a Public Community College in Erie County, Pennsylvania Introduction, want to support unequivocally the provision of community college services in Erie County, which include liberal arts and sciences and especially technical and workforce education. But my support comes in context. As a young doctoral student in 1964-65 I first served as founding Assistant to the President at Harrisburg Community College and then worked with the Ralph R. Fields & Associates team hired by the State Board of Education to write a community college master plan for the Commonwealth. In that role in spring 1965 I traveled to northwestern Pennsylvania to interview various entities and gather information to be included in the master plan. The need for a community college in the Erie area was evident then, particularly when other higher education entities were not well developed, when adults were not being served, when workforce needs were not being served, when continuing education efforts were nonexistent, when enrollments were projected to grow, and when the roles of the other existing institutions seemed well defined, The need for a community college was clear in 1965. Today the situation and evidence make this less clear and a new Erie County effort is indeed redundant, Please let me elaborate in my capacity as. a moderating and experienced voice in this context, My curriculum vita is provided as Exhibit A, T reviewed a number documents submitted by Erie County, as well as the response provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the documentation that relates to creation and approval of the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College C'NPRC’), including issues related to accreditation, and other pertinent materialsOorVaure w © 10 iM 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 A. The Plan Conflicts with the Higher Education Needs and Plans for Higher Education in the Commonwealth, The applicable legislative history makes clear that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has approved, and the General Assembly has supported, the creation of the NPRC, which serves as the de facto community college for several counties, including Erie County, As a result, the approval of a second community college in Erie County would conflict with the plans for higher education in the Commonwealth. There is also no doubt that Erie County opted to participate in the rural community college which became the NPRC. See Exhibit B, Asa result, the NPRC is up and running, authorized to issue degrees and serving Erie County. In fact, it projects to offer nearly all of the same course work, training and educational programs suggested by the proposed Erie Community College. And new program thrusts can emerge flexibly as needed, which is an essential understanding in the NPRC plan, No new college is needed for these program efforts to be met. The Pennsylvania School Code requires that the Pennsylvania State Board of Education (“State Board") consider the needs of the Commonwealth with respect to higher education and the long range plans established by the State Board when approving or disapproving a plan for a community college. These needs were considered, met and approved in the NPRC plan, Hence; it is clear that the long range plan for community college services in Erie County and the surrounding area is already authorized in the NPRC, To approve another community college in Erie County would conflict with the long range plans, duplicate efforts, and frustrate the intention of the General Assembly. B, The Local Sponsor, Erie County, is Adequately Served by Established Institutions of Highér Education. The above analysis makes clear that Erie County is already adequately served by the NPRC and can be adequately served into the future, There are a number of other institutions extant in the general crea, whose purpose ies already fill needs in a way not available in 1965, The institutions of and capabil 2wan eahwnn 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 at 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (‘PSSHE") have matured and expanded, the local campus of Penn State University is a full four year entity, the University of Pittsburgh has extended its operations, and a number of private colleges have prospered. And the NPRC has been added to the mix with Erie County as a signature partner in seeking State Board approval. Further, the presence of two year efforts by Mercyhurst North East, and by Edinboro at Porreco - with some elements of an expanding Behrend, by Gannon University, Pitt at Titusville, and perhaps even by Clarion at Venango- suggest that each considers in their plans not only the same high school graduation numbers but also the adult education numbers projected. While adult education, technical and health programs, and workforce development used to be the sole province of the community college mission, these days all of the institutions in varying degrees are not only competing for recent high school graduates, but also for adults, returning veterans, and other part time populations, And there are new indications that PASSHE wants to more aggressively create Associate Degree programs in workforce needs areas. And let's look at the evidence of success of several efforts to expand into the two year sector, For all practical purposes it seems that Edinboro is going to relinquish Porreco asa viable site for two year programs and that Mercyhurst North East is going to pull back efforts at its two year extension site, Enrollments at Edinboro and Clarion and Pitt Titusville themselves are stressed, So are efforts at Clarion Venango. Thus existing highly viable colleges are rethinking the economic viability of their site based separate operations in or near Erie County as unwieldy and putting fiscal pressure on their core operations, At the same time, the already operating NPRC has been approved by the Commonwealth, has staff and programs in place, is focused especially on workforce and technology programs in addition to other core subjects, and has as a key part of its Master Plan the provision of service in the Erie County area - paying special attention to site based needs, the uniquely more urban needs of the Erie metro area, and with special administrative and support teams geared to meeting Erie needs, See Exhibit C, NPRC Master Plan ‘These efforts clearly are scalable and part of the NPRC plan for Erie, recognizing its unique needs in the existing state approved partnership,eoRwone oon 10 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 24 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Further, the notion that NPRC is only a virtual institution is plainly misunderstood, From the outset the Master Plan approved by the Commonwealth provides for site based instruction in technical disciplines and using existing classroom facilities throughout the region. Enhanced site based instruction has always been a part of the assumption for serving Erie County with its combined urban core and less developed surroundings, Part of my own professional experience has been with taking an existing institution and extending its service area into a neighboring county, Not only was the neighboring county well served by an already accredited institution which had an approved faculty and curriculum, but the costs to the local community were significantly reduced by not having to duplicate administrative personnel, A decade after the partnership was formed, the local citizens determined that they wanted Yo be an independent institution, That process of independence was greatly facilitated by a joint planning effort that spanned a number of years and allowed ‘the new college to transition to accredited status in an organized and expedient manner, Most important, the students were immediately eligible for federal financial aid through the partner college during the first formative years and were, able to transition easily as Candidate status was practically a given once the decision was made to go independent. NPRC is already working with Pitt Titusville on areas of mutual interest where the skills of each are leveraged in a partnership. That makes sense. As would a partnership between an existing community college and any new effort to bring community college services to the region, The NPRC is already years ahead in 1: and other possible getting to Candidate status for regional accreditat community college partners like Butler are also already accredited. In 2013, while serving as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Pennsylvania Commission on Community Colleges, I testified in favor of using an existing community college institution to bring programs quickly to an underserved area. Ultimately, the decision was made to start NPRC as essentially a two year college serving a unique rural set of counties, Then Erie joined the effort. Now that NPRC exists, I still believe that leveraging existing talents and resources should come first before creating more competing entities all seeking taxpayer support, 4n wONaa Rw 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 at 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 C, The Local Sponsor, Erie County, does not have sufficient population to assure a sustained enrollment. As detailed above, there are a number of higher education institutions competing for the same student pool. The projections provided for a new effort in Erie County are reasonable - but only if one does not consider that they have aiready been used in the NPRC plan, All colleges need enrollments: and the general population and high school graduation projections are not favorable throughout the northeast and specifically in Pennsylvania going forward. The Erie County plan shows that population decline in the coming years; and the Department of Education response also recognizes a 15% decline in community college enrollments in recent years. And as to comparisons with other counties of similar population that have operating community colleges, one cannot reasonably assume that a new Erie Community College starting in 2020 would achieve enrollment parity with other corimunity colleges that have a 50 year history of service and were started without the same mix of existing college and university options that are already present in the Erie County area, including the NPRC which has the ability to scale up its operations in light of the Edinboro and Mereyhurst transitions, Hence, the evidence is not clear that another new institution entering the fray at this time can count on enrollment growth at a rate sufficient to guarantee success, as was the case in 1965 or indeed in the past few decades before enrollment declines ramped up the competition for these same student populations. D, The Local Sponsor, Erie County, does not have sufficient Wealth to Support the Proposed College. The use of gaming revenues and Foundation funding, while creative, is NOT representative of the wealth of Erie County in the context of the true intent of the criterion, The plan fails to effectively provide that the actual wealth of Erie County will be used to support a college as a consequence, A further word about finances seems important here as well. The accrediting agency for Pennsylvania is the Commission on Higher Education of Middle States. 5WON aakwonn 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2a 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Tt has an on-going history of special concern for the financial health of institutions, especially at a time of diminishing enrollment and diminishing state aid to colleges. Asa five time Chairman of an accrediting team, I was always fully ‘aware that one of my key roles was to examine on-going financial viability, not just promises generated by political leaders, Consistency of funding and local commitment were key indicators, The unique Pennsylvania community college legislation "enables" localities to sponsor a community college. That sponsorship is made manifest in the taxing authority of school boards and/or local political jurisdictions. Tam greatly impressed by the generous Foundation funding promised for Erie as well as the premise that a major share of gaming revenues can be directed to a new college effort, But for an accreditor, I am not sure that either of these sources will serve as a sufficient basis for considering long term fiscal viability. Foundation resources are limited, subject to review by the governing boards of the Foundation, and limited in their duration as written in the Erie plan. ‘And gaming revenue is both variable and subject to pressures on political leaders to commit it to the next important project, whether it be law and order, environmental matters, or economic incentives. Erie could have enabled a community college in 1965 or shortly thereafter as did every other major urban/suburban area that has one today; it did not. Other efforts also failed - perhaps due to unwillingness to tax the citizenry. And the current effort, while commendable, still indicates it is not important enough to get public funding. Indeed, the plan for Erie seems to celebrate that public funds will not be used. T fear that is a commitment to avoiding commitment which will not bode well, From my perspective, this appears as a ‘have your cake and eat it’ approach, which is suggested by Erie signing on to NPRC once it learned that no local tax funds would be needed. And now, finding an alternate way to accomplish the same objective via Foundation and gaming revenue, there is a similar effort to avoid making a public commitment. That is the reason why I also opted out of serving as a master plan consultant to Erie County's efforts, feeling it would be a conflict for me to have assisted the NPRC in good faith to include Erie County in their planning efforts, and then turning about and promoting the competitive Erie County independent project,OYOThoOne 0 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 at 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Pennsylvania is regrettably notorious for its uncoordinated higher education enterprise which creates underfunded and competitive institutions with overlapping approaches and mission creep. My own experience of over 20 years as a community college president in the state, my involvement of more than 20 years ‘4rying to negotiate a reasonable articulation process between institutions (which is still second class compared to other states), plus my experience as Chair of the Community College Council of presidents and acting CEO of the Commission all reinforce this observation of a regrettably competitive and duplicative system. The recent National Center for Higher Education Management Systems report done for the PASSHE system recognizes this problem in its findings. See Exhibit D. Tt notes a shrinking student market, shrinking financial resources, too much competition among institutions when more collaboration is needed. The report suggested more shared administrative functions, strengthened core programs, and other options to bring the system into balance. It skirts the issue of merging and closing campuses: but that is a political expedient we all understand, But the implication is clear: streamline and sharpen the mission, focus on core competencies, reduce duplication, rightsize staff, foster collaboration. Creating a new Erie Community College furthers none of these goals. E. The Application does not Satisfy the Additional Statutory Requirements 1, The plan does not set forth a financial program for operation. The tuition estimates for the Erie Community College appear unrealistically low in comparison to the direction in which other community college tuitions are headed. Fees are growing even faster than tuition as a percentage in order to create the impression that tuition costs are not increasing as fast. Many community colleges are approaching 40-50% of total annual operating costs paid by students, 2. The Plan does not provide that one-half of the annual capital expenses shall be appropriated or provided by the Local Sponsor, Erie County,eoveTaaswne © 10 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 at 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 The PDE Report identifies this weakness in proposed funding of the Erie Community College, As the lead President in crafting the revised community college capital funding approach being utilized, T am aware that any new institution may be at a disadvantage in competing with the existing 14 for the major investment needed to start a new operation given that the local contribution is supposed to be secured before seeking funds from the state capital pool, The workaround that is proposed, using other state gaming revenues, is clever but not a sustainable approach, In order to effectively establish the public funding support, Erie County leadership should put a measure on the ballot in November with three elements: (1) formal citizen approval to create the community college; (2) approval to set aside local funds for capital purposes in keeping with state mandates to match State resources using the borrowing power of the County; and (3) approval of a millage for support of the community college operations, Unless and until Erie County and its taxpayers commit to the community college, it does not and cannot meet the requirements for approval 3, The Plan does not provide Sustainable Public Funding at an amount at least equal to the Community College's Annual Operating Costs less the Student Tuition less the Commonwealth's Payment. ‘The PDE Report identifies this weakness in proposed funding of the Erie Community College. See the analysis above regarding the funding deficiencies of the Erie County plan. Conclusion All of the conclusions reached in this report are provided with a reasonable degree of certainty in light of my knowledge and experience. We all need to focus on the primary goal: providing community college services for Erie County citizens. The NPRC is already working on that goal and has been recognized by the Commonwealth as the entity to do so in keeping with Erie County's earlier signatory status, First and foremost we ask that the Board recognize and honor that commitment,wavanckoene 10 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 34 32 But there may legitimately be more that can be done even sooner. So we ask that ‘the State Board encourage collaboration between the current institutions serving Erie County and the NPRC. It's in keeping with the overarching purpose of the State Board to manage institutional and state investments in creating a fully functional and non-duplicative higher education system, What is not needed is for Edinboro and Clarion and Penn State and the private universities in the Erie area to pretend to be community colleges just to compete for students in a zero sum manner that helps no one long term, We also do not need another educational institution that is created just to satisfy opportunities for control, Empower Erie has created an environment for success and local Foundation resources can be used immediately for support of students rather than for basic operating costs. Mitigating the financial burden for students is vital to encouraging attendance and creating an environment that both prevents indebtedness and encourages attendance and completion, That is already part of the plan to use Foundation funding. That would be @ huge plus for Erie County students in attending the NPRC or a collaborative enterprise as well, Another option is for those funds to be used as incentive for completion - for example, paying for the junior year of college free or subsidized to encourage attendance at ‘an area four year or university institution after the NPRC/community college completion. Erie should have had a community college 50 years ago, It’s not too late for those needed educational opportunities to be provided, A big step has already been taken, Erie's efforts to codify needs are important, But in a highly competitive funding environment, the reality of declining potential enrollment in the aggregate and heightened competition for that enrollment, a situation in which other campuses have abandoned two year branches for feasibility reasons, a status in which missions have become confused and overlapping, and with one new college, the NPRC, already chartered for the area, it seems wiser to adopt a less conventional approach than one in which another individual charter application is approved just by stretching to meet minimum standards, The action of the State Board needs to be taken in context by strongly supporting the approvals already in place and encouraging the other interested parties to 91 come together to create a robust fast track approach to ensure a longer term win 2 forall. 3. Thank you 10COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION INR APPLICATION OF ERIECOUNTY —: Docket No, 2019-001 SEEKING TO ESTABLISH A : COMMUNITY COLLEGE CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 1, Kevin L. Hall, Esquire, of the law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C., hereby certify that 1 served a true and correct copy of the foregoing document this date by depositing a copy of the same in the possession of the United States mail, first-class, postage prepaid, and via Email, addressed as follows: James J. Kutz, Esquire Michael W. Winfield, Esquire Post & Schell, P.C. 17 North Second Street, 12" Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 {jkute@postschell.com; mwinfield@postschell.com ‘Attorneys for County of Evie ‘Adam L. Santueci, Esquire MeNees, Wallace & Nurick, LLC 100 Pine Street, P.O. Box 1166 Harrisburg, PA 17108 asantucci@meneeslaw.com Attorneys for Intervenor Senator Joseph Scarnati, IIT Mark Stewart, Esquire Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC 213 Market Street, 8" Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 stewart @eckertseamans.com Attorneys for Intervenor Empower BrieDated: February 28, 2020 ‘Thomas P, Howell, Deputy General Counsel Governor's Office of General Counsel Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 333 Market Street, 17" Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 thowell@pa.gov Attorneys for State Board of Education TUCKER ARENSBER’ Kevi il, 1826 2 Lemoyne Drive, Suite 200 Lemoyne, PA 17043 (717) 234-4121 khali@wuckerlaw.com