UNIVERSITY PARK – The University Faculty Senate held an off-cycle meeting on May 15 to discuss the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) made available to eligible Commonwealth Campus employees. The program, announced May 8, provides a financial incentive to eligible faculty and staff at the Commonwealth Campuses who wish to pursue retirement or other professional opportunities outside Penn State.
At the request of University President Neeli Bendapudi, the senate agreed to call the special session, according to Faculty Senate Chair Michele Stine, to give faculty members an opportunity to ask questions directly to senior administrators and to receive answers before the 5 p.m. May 31 enrollment deadline.
Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini began her presentation by highlighting the strengths of the Commonwealth Campuses, particularly regarding how they support Penn State’s access mission. More than University Park, the campuses serve student populations that include higher percentages of first-generation college students, those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, students who are eligible for Pell grants and those from rural communities.
However, DelliCarpini said, the campuses are operating similarly to how they were envisioned over a century ago without a lot of change, which has put some of the campus locations in a position where operational expenses are far exceeding revenue, as campus enrollment has declined by 24%, in aggregate, over the past 10 years.
“It really does make sense for the land-grant mission of our university, as it's delivered through the Commonwealth Campuses, to not only be relevant today, but to be future-ready and forward-thinking,” she said. “Over time, our campuses have evolved as standalone units, rather than as an interconnected ecosystem. And this meant that every campus worked to stand up a full complement of services, each developing as a regional comprehensive in many ways, and this is not sustainable.”
Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer, explained that VSIP is a proactive measure the University is using to reduce overall operating costs and prioritize funding for investment in more student-focused initiatives.
“This program allows us to reduce expenses while contributing to the long-term financial sustainability of all campuses,” Wilkes said. “It gives us an opportunity to be more strategic and agile as we're responding to changing market conditions and technological advancements, and it allows us to support employees during this time of change. It gives eligible employees a voluntary option to exit on their terms.”
There are no plans at this time to implement the VSIP at University Park, the law schools or the College of Medicine. Information on the specific eligibility criteria and the process for participating in the VSIP can be found on the Human Resources website.
The bulk of the senate meeting revolved around faculty senators asking questions of DelliCarpini, Wilkes and President Bendapudi, and raising concerns about the potential impacts of the VSIP. Many of the concerns raised had to do with how the departures of those who do enroll in the VSIP will affect classes and research for those who remain at the campuses.
One way Penn State is planning to mitigate potential impact on students and employees who remain is by reserving the right to defer an employee’s VSIP departure until as late as Dec. 31, 2024, as needed, for critical positions. Employees whose departures are deferred will still receive their full 12 months of severance pay, Wilkes said. The decisions on who to retain will be made between the chancellors and the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses.
DelliCarpini said she will be meeting next week with Stine and Josh Wede, who will be officially taking over as Faculty Senate chair on July 1, to create a transition team that consists of faculty across the campuses to work on how to minimize disruptions to service and learning through December.
“We are really taking a deep dive into looking at our course enrollments and how we're managing that moving forward after January,” DelliCarpini said. “We’re looking at what the right mix of staffing is at each location and ensuring that we're centering students, their needs and that they're having an excellent experience both inside and outside of the classroom as we make plans for the future.”
There also will be a strategy in place to fast-track requests to backfill vacated positions deemed to be critical. The University will pull from its savings to temporarily cover the cost of hiring for these positions, according to Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Sara Thorndike.
DelliCarpini said there are no plans to increase contractual or standard workloads. She and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Kathy Bieschke plan to set up a faculty committee to address workload policy.
“Not every position that is vacated will be refilled because the point of this is to look for budgetary flexibility," DelliCarpini said. “We are looking at the programmatic needs to determine whether a position will be backfilled or a faculty member will be held over to ensure we are centering the student experience.”
Faculty members also voiced concern about why non-tenure-line faculty are not eligible to enroll in this program.
When deciding who would be included in VSIP eligibility, Bendapudi said exclusions are based on the needs of the University to continue delivering on its mission of teaching, research and education, as well as funding sources for employee salaries and employment contracts.
Faculty senators voiced frustration with the three-week timeframe that employees were given to decide whether to enroll in the VSIP, expressing concerns that they don’t have information about plans for the future of the Commonwealth Campuses that they believe is needed to make their decisions.
The reason for announcing the program after the spring semester ended, Wilkes said, was to minimize disruptions to classes and to review the plan with the Board of Trustees during its May 2-3 meetings. The May 31 deadline will give the University time to evaluate and fill critical positions before the fall semester.
Bendapudi acknowledged that the challenges caused by the market reality of declining enrollments, demographic projections and competition bring with them difficult decisions.
"We don’t have a one-size-fits all approach ...” DelliCarpini said. “But we do have a commitment to ensuring that our strong campuses and programs remain strong, that the students are having the experience they deserve and that our faculty and staff are supported in carrying out that mission.”
Due to time constraints many questions could not be addressed. University leaders acknowledged there is still a lot to be determined and affirmed, and they agreed to provide written answers to the questions they were not able to address. Stine said that information would then be published on the Penn State Faculty Senate’s website.
More information and links to the necessary forms to enroll in the VSIP are available on the Human Resources website. Anyone with questions about the program is encouraged to email VSIP2024@psu.edu.
The next regular meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held at 1:30 p.m. July 9 via Zoom.
About Faculty Senate
Faculty Senate is a legislative body comprised of 200 faculty, elected by their peers from each college and campus. The senate also includes representatives from the undergraduate and graduate student body and University administration. The senate holds legislative authority on educational matters including curriculum, student policies, admissions, and retention/graduation requirements. The senate also serves as an advisory and consultative body to the University administration, a process referred to as shared governance.