Megan Nagel, Regional Chancellor, Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus/Penn State Greater Allegheny/Penn State New Kensington
Megan Nagel, Regional Chancellor at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, Penn State Greater Allegheny, and Penn State New Kensington spoke with Invest: about developing career-ready students for local and regional employment opportunities. “We are committed to high-quality internships, allowing students to build social capital, workplace experience and connections with professionals in their fields of interest,” Nagel said. “Given the high demand for workforce in the area, it’s a win for everyone involved.”
How is Penn State Greater Allegheny preparing to play a larger regional role with the closures of nearby campuses like New Kensington and Fayette?
We are taking our location seriously and thinking deeply about how we are aligning the needs of learners, of all ages, with the workforce needs of this region. The Commonwealth campus’ bread and butter is educating the workforce in the region. With the closure of New Kensington and Fayette, we are focusing on expanding within our neighborhood to capture a wider footprint and ensuring our curricular suite aligns with the needs of learners and employers.
What steps are being taken to evaluate and potentially expand academic offerings to meet future demand from students and regional employers?
Penn State has completed a years-long, deep dive academic portfolio and program review and is starting to benefit from the tremendous data set that was delivered. We are analyzing future growth, student demand, and current program enrollments, among other things. We are creating a comprehensive view of what works at each location, what could benefit from an update, and what our portfolio might be missing. Penn State is a large, complicated system, and we benefit from integrating our local Pittsburgh portfolio with other regions in the state. Our goal is to deliver programming across multiple locations to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.
How will you balance growth opportunities at Greater Allegheny with the need to maintain strong morale and mission-focus during this broader transition?
Greater Allegheny is small, and we can’t be everything to everyone. We work as a team to identify priority areas. There are sectors in the Pittsburgh region that are poised for growth.. It’s not just about having academic programs, in these emergent areas, it’s also important to know who our learners are. At our campuses, more than 50% of the students are first-generation students, many of whom are from low-income backgrounds. We have to ensure the education we are providing is one that is a strong return on investment, because for many of them it is a tremendous sacrifice to pay for their education. It’s important that our degree offerings lead to a life-sustaining wage after the completion of their two- or four-year degree.
How is the university engaging with local leaders and communities to reimagine the future use of closed campus sites in ways that benefit the region?
For each community losing a campus, the needs of those communities are unique. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. There will be conversations between Penn State leaders and community leaders to brainstorm ideas and find alignment, to ensure that what remains after Penn State is serving the needs of the community.
Taking a broader look at the economy, how have ongoing changes in the market impacted your campus?
Everything is evolving quickly, and was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online and hybrid programs became a natural choice for many people. The big university experience is currently quite attractive to students, therefore smaller, comprehensive institutions have to fight for their future. We are listening to both our learners and our employers. If we aren’t a conduit between those two audiences we are missing the mark. A four-year commitment can feel like a long time to young people, and we are looking for ways to get students educated and into the workforce. But we also want to provide a smooth transition back into education, when needed. We want our campus to be the place students return to when new credentials or skills are required.
In what ways are you positioning Greater Allegheny to be a hub for innovation, student success, and economic mobility in Southwest Pennsylvania?
The campus is engaged in a robust student success initiative, defined by more than graduation rates and GPAs. We are also tracking, from day one, how we help students find their trajectory beyond college. Many of our students don’t have parents who attended college and are not working in professional settings. We see it as a mandate to educate more than just within the classroom by giving them social capital and the means for upward financial mobility. The final component is students’ sense of belonging in higher education. We track how students feel connected to their peers, faculty, and staff on campus. It’s vital to know who we are serving and ensure we are meeting the basic needs of our students. As far as career planning, we go all-in on high-quality internships, allowing students to build social capital and connect with professionals in their fields of interest. We have a large alumni network in many fields throughout Pittsburgh. Given the high demand for workforce in the area, it’s an easy conversation to have with employers.
What is your outlook for the second half of the decade, and what would you like to see accomplished on campus over that period?
The last five years have been marked with instability and pressure from many different directions, in higher education. In the next five years, I want to see adaptation leading to a level of stability and enrollment growth. With all of the changes that have happened at Penn State we have the opportunity to fill out our academic portfolio to best meet the evolving workforce needs of our region. I want potential students to recognize that our campus is aligned with the needs of local employers. We must stay laser focused on meeting the needs of our community to ensure it is poised to thrive into the future.
