|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
State
Rep. Mark Cohen |
  
|
Cohen encouraged by talks of a state-system university for Philly
HARRISBURG, Aug. 11 – State Rep. Mark Cohen first introduced a plan to establish a State System of Higher Education-affiliated college in the city of Philadelphia last year, and now his proposal has won the interest of SSHE's new chancellor John C. Cavanaugh.
Cohen, D-Phila., first presented the idea at the Philly Blocks 2007 neighborhood agenda conference in September last year and has since discussed the proposal with various state and city officials, including Mayor Michael Nutter. Nutter pledged at the start of his term to cut the city's high school dropout rate in half and double Philadelphia's college-degree attainment rate.
Cavanaugh, who began his tenure as SSHE chancellor on July 1, said last week he is interested in the idea for a state-system school within the city and has the backing of SSHE's board of governors.
"I am encouraged by Chancellor Cavanaugh and the board's interest in this issue and look forward to continuing discussions," Cohen said. "Many of the city’s renowned private universities are out of reach of the average Philadelphia high school graduate, either due to their high admission standards or high tuition costs. Establishing a public university of the State System of Higher Education in Philadelphia would provide an affordable and accessible college option for students of working families."
Cohen said that the upper-tier schools do add immense value to the city’s educational and cultural landscape, but a state-owned school also would offer enormous value to city residents.
"A college education for Philadelphia’s many high school graduates would serve as a public good, and would allow residents to stay locally to go to college rather having to travel long and expensive commutes or pay room and board at another institution," Cohen said. "As it stands now, it is more expensive to attend college in Philadelphia than it is in many areas of Pennsylvania. Temple University, the least expensive Philadelphia four-year university, costs about $4,000 more than the average public university in Pennsylvania, just for tuition and fees."
Cohen, who has a portion of his legislative Web site www.pahouse.com/Cohen dedicated to the proposal, said he plans to step up his efforts to move the idea forward.
###bfg/2008/agh
l:'print'releases' SSHEphilly.202
|
|