Recently, the 21-member State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) unanimously approved the posting of the Commonwealth’s first ever draft strategic plan for postsecondary education in the Commonwealth. The plan, Driving a Prosperous Pennsylvania: A Statewide Agenda for Higher Education, aims to increase postsecondary attainment, ensure affordable pathways to postsecondary credentials, support the economic and workforce development needs of Pennsylvania, strengthen the fiscal health and stability of the higher education sector, and more.

This year, the SBHE gathered input from more than 1,200 individuals via regional hearings, small group meetings and an online survey to inform the development of the draft strategic plan. The plan will be available for public comment until January 20, 2026, at which point the SBHE will work to finalize its first ever plan for higher education. The plan emphasizes expanding funding for dual credit programs and enrollment in those programs to streamline the path from high school to college and allow students to accumulate more credits before they graduate high school. In addition, the plan proposes studying how to improve retention rates and focusing on reenrolling adults who started college but didn’t finish; there are more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians with some college.

For more details regarding the plan from the Philadelphia Inquirer, click here.

Read the article on the pa.gov website by clicking here.