All of the schools are primarily NCAA Division II members and affiliated with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).

[20] The plan being a part of the larger state system redesign was projected to have disastrous effects according to a report out of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

[21] The report titled "The Economic Impact of the PASSHE Employment Reductions" outlines "[The] large cuts in staffing, both of faculty and of professional and classified staff in good unionized jobs, constitute the core of the restructuring.

The cuts, amounting to 14 percent of overall PASSHE employment, are of a magnitude equivalent to the largest private-sector plant closings and mass layoffs of the previous decade in Pennsylvania.

"[21] Under the plan, two sets of three schools would merge into single institutions effective July 1, 2022—Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield in the state's northeast, and California, Clarion, and Edinboro in western Pennsylvania.

Each three-school group would have a new name, but the plan called for all institutions involved in these mergers to retain their current campus identities and athletic programs.

[25] The board voted unanimously to approve the merger on July 14, but a system press release stated that "the efforts to complete the two integrations will take years.

As reported in November 2020, "The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education was given the green light from the General Assembly to sell the Dixon University Center".

[35][36] As established by the founding legislation, Act 188 of 1982, the primary mission of the State System of Higher Education "is the provision of instruction for undergraduate and graduate students to and beyond the Master's degree in the liberal arts and sciences, and in the applied fields, including the teaching profession."

Additionally, the purpose of the State System is "to provide high quality education at the lowest possible cost to students.

A total of 862 buildings with nearly 25 million square feet (2.3 km2) house classrooms, residences, administrative offices, and student support services.