PSU Altoona updates Vision 2030
Campus seeks balance between boosting student population, costs
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Increasing campus vitality and enrollment while also keeping costs in check is part of Penn State Altoona's "Vision 2030," Chancellor Ron Darbeau said during the university's Board of Trustees meeting Friday at the Altoona campus.
Darbeau said the local Penn State campus will need to focus on -- "through measured frugality" -- strategically reinvesting savings in areas where significant growth opportunities exist. The college will also need to focus on fundraising to accomplish many of its goals, he said.
The comprehensive plan for the campus is in alignment with President Neeli Bendapudi's vision for the university, Darbeau said.
Raising enrollment
From now until the end of the decade, an emphasis will be on raising enrollment to between 3,250 and 3,500 students, Darbeau said.
He cited the array of engineering majors and said the campus is well positioned to continue building on its success with mechanical engineering, electro-mechanical engineering technology and rail transportation engineering -- the only degree of its kind in the nation.
Engineering is one of the three most sought-after baccalaureate programs both domestically and internationally and therefore is one of the program areas identified for significant growth, according to the plan.
Penn State Altoona's nursing programs also boast impressive outcomes, including the recent 100% NCLEX-RN pass rate for the Second Degree cohort.
As the demand for nurses is projected to remain strong, the college will work to expand the current program by adding a spring cohort in 2025. In addition, the campus will create an accelerated general nursing option.
These proposals require the addition of faculty and support staff as well as infrastructure build-out and expanded space for classrooms, labs and offices, Darbeau explained.
Improved diversity, sports
During fall 2023, Penn State Altoona enrolled 121 international students, representing only 4.7% of the overall student population. Through ongoing efforts, including collaborations with Indian and Chinese universities, the campus intends to raise its international enrollment to between 350 to 400 students, or roughly 10% of its projected enrollment.
To increase general enrollment, Penn State Altoona also plans to introduce new sports over the next several years. As student-athletes currently make up 10% of the enrollment at the Altoona campus, it is believed that additional sport offerings will also help increase enrollment.
Initially, the campus will offer sports that require little or no infrastructure commitment, while fundraising to build out facilities for the other sports the campus intends to add.
In fall 2024, Penn State Altoona will reintroduce men's wrestling and launch programs in women's wrestling and women's golf, for which there is an anticipated enrollment bump of 45 to 60 students. Fall 2025 will see the addition of men's and women's cross country, while fall 2026 will be the launch of men's and women's track and field programs.
Future potential additions to the athletics array include field hockey and lacrosse. The college's ultimate goal is to increase the number of student-athletes by 300 to 350, according to the Vision 2030 plan.
Digital equity
Beginning this fall, all Penn State Altoona students will have the ability to borrow devices like laptops, iPads, tablets and accessories for short- or long-term use.
Not only will students have access to learning tools on these devices but the program may also reduce the cost of textbooks potentially to zero as faculty work to transition largely or exclusively to eBooks and Open and Affordable Educational Resources.