With Penn State expecting a freshman class enrollment at University Park of about 8,600 students — 1,000 more than 2015’s first year class — the university says it is exploring a number of options to reduce the strain on campus services.
“We are looking at ways to minimize the impact of a larger-than-expected class size at University Park because we understand the balance that the university needs to maintain within our community and also the capacity challenges that come with a larger incoming class,” said Rob Pangborn, vice president and dean for Undergraduate Education, in a news release. “This was not part of a calculated growth plan, but an offshoot of a number of complex factors that came together in a positive way.”
Among those options is offering a special ‘1+3’ deal to incoming freshman. Students accepted to University Park are being offered the opportunity to spend their first year at one of Penn State’s other campuses in exchange for financial aid and lowered tuition costs. They would also be offered a housing grant if they choose one of the Commonwealth Campuses with available campus housing (Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton and Mont Alto) for their first year.
An email sent to one incoming student from out-of-state and obtained by Onward State offered a combination of tuition reduction and scholarships amounting to $15,000 and a housing grant of $5,000. The email indicated students will have until June 1 to accept the offer.
A Penn State spokesperson confirmed Pennsylvania residents who accept the 1+3 Scholarship will see a reduction in first-year costs of $10,000 and out-of-state residents would receive a $15,000 reduction. Those opting to live on campus at Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton or Mont Alto as part of the 1+3 program will receive a housing grant of $5,000 for their first year.
The university is exploring several initiatives to accommodate housing at University Park as well. In addition to supplemental housing, Penn State is looking at allowing returning students to opt out of campus housing contracts without forfeiting their deposits and ‘gauging the interest of local students to commute from their family homes,’ according to the news release.
‘Leading up to the May 1 admissions deadline, Penn State saw a surge in paid acceptances,’ Pangborn said. ‘While there is always some flux in class sizes year to year, Penn State’s popularity has grown. This year a higher than normal percentage of students who were offered admission chose to accept — a clear sign of the value that students and their parents attach to a Penn State degree.’
But popularity may not have been the only factor that led to a near-record freshman class. The university’s new student information system, which was unveiled earlier this year and has been the subject of criticism, may have played a role as well.
‘Unanticipated ripples in getting the complex system to scale and mesh with major areas impacting student life at Penn State may have inadvertently created an increase in the rounds of admissions being offered,’ the university news release said. ‘This is the first full admissions cycle under the new system.’
