Copyright phillyvoice
Select Philadelphia high school students can take bus trips to visit nearby Pennsylvania state universities this fall as part of an experimental program aimed at reducing transportation barriers faced by prospective students. Starting next week, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's foundation is offering day trips to seven universities located within three hours of Philadelphia. The campus visits are open to 945 students affiliated with three college access organizations — Heights Scholars, the Philadelphia Education Fund and the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable, the PSSHE Foundation said Tuesday. MORE: Another 1 million World Cup tickets to go on sale; deadline to enter lottery is Friday Each campus visit will include activities intended to help students prepare for college life, including eating in the dining halls, exploring academic programs and talking with students from Philadelphia about their on-campus experiences. Each host university will share students' information with the admissions offices of other state schools, a move aimed at maximizing their chances of being accepted into a state university. "Campus visits play a critical role in helping every student make informed decisions about their future," PASSHE Chancellor Christopher Fiorentino said in a statement. "This partnership will help students learn about their college options and whether a campus is the right fit for them. Even if a student ultimately chooses to attend a different institution, the experience of visiting a college campus is an important and valuable part of their journey." Eligible students that want to visit a state school will be assigned to campus visits based on where they attend high school, PASSHE spokesperson Kevin Hensil said. Here is the schedule for the visits: • Nov. 6: Roxborough, George Washington and Northeast high school students can visit Shippensburg University.• Nov. 12: Horace Furness High School students can visit West Chester University.• Nov. 13: Bartram High School and Franklin Learning Center students can visit Cheyney University. Kensington CAPA, Kensington High School and Kensington Health Sciences Academy students can visit Commonwealth University.• Nov. 18: Frankford High School can visit Millersville University.• Dec. 2: Abraham Lincoln High School students can visit Kutztown University, and Olney High School students can visit East Stroudsburg University. The PASSHE Foundation solicited approximately $30,000 in funding for the program from the Patricia Kind Family Foundation, the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust and some state universities. It also is accepting donations for future campus visits. "We want to offer campus visits for up to 945 high school juniors in each spring semester and another 945 high school seniors each fall semester," Hensil said in an email. "The PASSHE Foundation is seeking philanthropic support of approximately $100,000 per year to meet that goal." The foundation and its partners will evaluate any potential expansion of the program by assessing student interest, participation levels and overall impact on students' higher education decisions, Hensil said. "There is a clear need to support college visits like this in many areas of Pennsylvania, including both urban and rural communities," Hensil said. "The goal is to use this evaluation to build the case for securing additional resources to expand the program, benefit more students in the Philadelphia region and potentially reach high schools around the Commonwealth." PASSHE includes 10 universities, including Cheyney University in Delaware County and West Chester University in Chester County. Overall enrollment at these 10 schools has risen for the first time in more than 10 years, with seven of them seeing increases. However, PASSHE officials anticipate enrollment challenges in the years ahead due to the reduced birth rates that followed the Great Recession. Over the summer, PASSHE introduced another pilot program to promote course sharing between its universities and also increased its tuition rates for the first time in seven years.
