17, Fiorentino will give a welcome-back address to students, followed by an anniversary celebration, a state Senate resolution and House citation, and later a free performance by singer-songwriter Devon Gilfillian, a 2013 graduate. “We’ve already seen improvements in GPAs,” she said. They also get priority access to tutoring and to a success coach for the spring semester. The effort includes a two-day special program over winter terms where students learn goal-setting and career development. The university a few years ago started special programming to improve student performance among those in what Bernotsky called “the murky middle.” While high achievers and low performers have always gotten attention, the school wanted to help those with less than a 2.66 GPA, who it found were more likely to struggle with graduating on time, she said.
“You have people in management who understand what we need,” he said.įiorentino also cited a focus on student success. Mark Rimple, outgoing president of the faculty union and a music professor, also touted the relationship between the union and management. “If you can get that collection of people all pulling in the same direction, you can do something special.” “A university is a collection of people,” he said.
“We all understand the centrality of having your faculty not just believing in but leading in the things that are really important for student success,” said Bernotsky, who started as a political science professor in 1996.įiorentino, who began teaching at West Chester in 1983, credited staff and faculty. She pointed out that both she and the president, Christopher Fiorentino, taught at West Chester for years before rising into leadership. Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky, the provost, also attributed West Chester’s success to its shared governance with staff and faculty. It’s also nestled in a borough with a vibrant downtown and restaurant scene that has appeared on some best college town lists, a draw for students and faculty looking to raise families. About a quarter of its professors, the most allowed under the union contract but far less than some private colleges, are adjunct. The university has access to a large pool of adjunct professors, which can keep costs down and allow for flexibility.
Unlike most other state schools, the university clearly benefits from being close to Philadelphia, but that means it also has more competition for students and faculty. » READ MORE: Board oks controversial plan to merge six universities into two It ranks the best in retention: 85% of freshmen become sophomores. It was the only Pennsylvania state system university to appear in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s most recent national list of 50 public universities with the best graduation rates. About three-quarters of its students graduate in six years. West Chester also tops the system when it comes to student performance.
It has nearly $159 million in its budgetary reserve, the largest of any other school by almost twice as much, even though it receives the smallest per-pupil subsidy from the system. While collectively the state system universities have lost 22% of enrollment since 2010, West Chester - the largest in the state system - has continued to grow.