Jul 21, 2017 2 min read

CALIFORNIA – California University of Pennsylvania lifted a layoff notice to its union faculty, stating it’s optimistic the enrollment decline trend will be reversed in the fall.

The university also said an in-depth review of programs could result in the possible cancellation of those with low enrollments, with professors in those areas teaching other courses.

“We are elated by this news and hope to move forward with management to continue to make California University academically strong and fiscally viable,” said Barbara Hess, the local union president.

“The efforts of faculty and management have paid off,” Hess said after the university made the announcement Friday morning.

Cal U. put the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties on retrenchment notice in March, which could have resulted in layoffs in the fall of 2018 among the school’s 237 tenured professors or those on track to become tenured. The decision came at a time when many of the State System of Higher Education’s 14 universities have been struggling to meet expenses.

“The university has a clearer picture of its financial status for the coming academic year, now that legislative appropriations to the State System have been determined and the 2017-18 tuition rate has been set by the system’s board of governors,” Cal U. stated in a news release.

The governors this month approved a 3.5 percent tuition increase for the next term, raising last term’s annual tuition of $7,238 by $253.

“The decision to take retrenchment off the table now is in the best interest of our university,” Cal U. President Geraldine M. Jones said.

Cal U.’s enrollment dipped to 7,553 students last term, down from a record high of 9,483 in 2001. The decline has been largely blamed on a trend toward fewer high school graduates in Western Pennsylvania.

The university also said it has reduced spending by nearly $7 million over the past two years, in part by “tightening discretionary budgets,” and that more cost-cutting initiatives are pending.

Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindl said the announcement is good news for students and their parents.

“Cal U. is a sound choice,” Kindl said.

“This is certainly good news for our faculty,” she added.