HARRISBURG – A new strategic plan for education after high school will be the focus of the newly-established State Board of Higher Education. At its second meeting the new board approved Dr. Kate Shaw, current deputy secretary for higher education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as executive director.
Board materials can be found on the Pennsylvania State Board of Higher Education website.
“It is a tremendous honor to support this first-of-its-kind board here in Pennsylvania, and I look forward to working alongside the experienced leaders on the board to strengthen postsecondary education and expand its capacity to serve the needs of the Commonwealth and its residents,” Shaw said. “A robust higher education sector providing affordable postsecondary credentials aligned to good jobs is the lynchpin of a prosperous Pennsylvania. Now is the time to work together to make this vision a reality.”
Dr. Shaw’s career has focused on creating more accessible, equitable and effective education after high school, also called postsecondary education. She previously provided support and guidance for higher education reform in multiple states while at HCM Strategists, and for more than a decade led Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based education research organization that conducts applied research in Pennsylvania and across the nation. She has also served as deputy secretary for postsecondary and higher education in the administration of former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and was a faculty member at Temple University’s College of Education for 10 years, where she was also a department chair.
Established under revisions made to the Public School Code this year, the new higher education board will create a new postsecondary data system, provide guidance and capacity to institutions facing fiscal challenges, and create stronger and more affordable pathways to postsecondary credentials and degrees.
In his first budget address, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) called on state leaders to rethink higher education in the Commonwealth. Over the past year and a half, the Shapiro administration brought together dozens of vested partners to have meaningful conversations about higher education in Pennsylvania, and to build on Shapiro’s plan for higher education, state officials said.
The 2024-25 budget establishes the new State Board of Higher Education, provides more support for public universities and invests in making a college education more affordable for Pennsylvania students.
The budget invests nearly $60 million more in community colleges and the Pennsylvania State System universities and an additional $143 million in grants to make college more affordable for Pennsylvania students, including: a $54 million increase for student grants, a $5 million increase for disadvantaged students’ scholarships, a $36 million increase for the Ready to Succeed Scholarship and expanded criteria to increase the number of eligible students and $25 million for the new Grow PA Scholarship Program.
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