College bill reflects big crises

By John Finnerty. Opening an escape hatch for universities to flee the state’s higher education system is an idea that doesn’t seem to have much support outside the southeast corner of Pennsylvania.  But lawmakers and education officials say that doesn’t diminish the enrollment and financial crisis facing those schools.
A dozen of the 14 universities in the State System of Higher Education are enrolling fewer students. They are straining under two years of flat funding, which followed an 18 percent cut in state support during Gov. Tom Corbett’s first year in office, said system spokesman Kenn Marshall. More...