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Peru Stater Fall 2010
Spring 2010 Vol. 55, No. 1
The Big Squeeze:
PSC growth, budget cuts create dilemma for students
Call it a perfect storm. Or consider that Peru State College may be, as Vice President Michaela Willis put it, that PSC is “a bit of a victim of our own success.” However one sees it, a college experiencing both significant growth and cuts in state funding is bound to feel the squeeze. The same is true for its students. After all, affordability has ever been a prime inducement when students consider Peru State. The region has below-median incomes and educational attainment levels; for many, PSC is their best option for an affordable college education. Peru State officials are realistic: in a bad economy, state government must tighten its belt. PSC has already seen a 3.5% cut for the 2009-11 budget cycle, and more reductions may be necessary. Yet there is another reality. For a thriving institution like Peru State to tighten its belt when it is educating a record number of students, and those students’ ability to pay is hurt by economic circumstances, this situation creates a formidable challenge.
“Doing more with less requires tremendous creativity and commitment by our faculty, staff and administration,” President Hanson noted. Consider the facts: • Last fall the undergraduate headcount enrollment was 1,997, nearly 21% above its average for the previous five years – and PSC has been on a growth spurt for a decade. • On-campus enrollment jumped 10.5%, and residence hall occupancy grew by 11%. • Undergraduate credit hour production was 17% above its fiveyear average. • Credit hour production in PSC’s graduate programs was nearly 6% above its five-year average, and graduate program headcount was up by nearly 18%. Peru State has grown, substantially, by virtually every measurement. On-campus is up. On-line is up. Freshman enrollment is up. Outof-state student enrollment is up. Occupancy in PSC residence halls this past fall was within a couple of dozen students of capacity. A vibrant and growing PSC did
Peru State experienced another record-setting enrollment this fall, but budget cuts are causing growing pains. not just happen. PSC faculty, staff, alumni and friends have worked hard to make it happen. The revitalization of Peru State in the last decade is a remarkable success story. The PSC Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supports the college, has been hit hard by the economy and experienced major budget-cutting of its own. Yet Foundation board of directors committed a record amount to student financial aid this year, to
help students and keep the college growing. Still, the vice that is a growing student population, coupled with declining public funding, is putting greater pressure on the Campus of A Thousand Oaks. Students are certainly doing their part, Ms. Willis noted. Tuition and fee increases have pushed PSC to the $10,000 per year level. The Financial Aid office estimates that, with incidental expenses, an on-campus
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Online graduate program a national “Best Buy”
The Peru State College online graduate program has been named a national “Best Buy” by GetEducated. com. Founded in 1989, GetEducated. com is a consumer advocacy group that reviews, rates and ranks online colleges along the dimensions that matter most to consumers: cost and credibility. The distance education group analyzed tuition and fees at 101 regionally accredited universities
that offer 313 online master’s degrees to come up with national rankings of the Best Buys in online Master’s degrees for teachers and librarians. PSC’s Master of Science in Education – Curriculum and Instruction earned eighth place honors in GetEducated.com’s most recent survey of online college affordability. The survey recognizes institutions that offer high-quality, low-cost online degrees in education
and/or library science for less than $10,000. “We are proud to get this kind of national recognition,” President Dan Hanson said. “In addition to offering an excellent regionally accredited program with the kind of flexibility our students have come to expect, we offer one of the most competitive, affordable tuition rates in the country. Those are just a few of the reasons why students are coming to Peru
State in record numbers.” Dean of Graduate Programs Dr. Greg Seay said, “For Peru State to place in the top 10 nationally is a testament to the efforts we have made to make this degree program accessible to teachers not only in Nebraska, but across the country. “We have new cohorts beginning this summer and scholarships available to further off-set the cost of
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