On Sept. 16 Millersville University’s Council of Trustees met for their quarterly meeting. At the meeting President Wubah gave a report about the current state of the university.
Enrollment at the university has increased since last year. There are a total of 7,183 students enrolled at Millersville, 5,881 undergraduates and 1302 graduate students. That is an increase of 75 students from 2025. The programs that are in high demand include Early Childhood Education, Psychology, and Business Administration. Furthermore, President Wubah explained that the university’s goal is to enroll as many students as possible who want to attend higher education. The university knows that the cost of education is a major barrier for many students. Tuition at Millersville is significantly less than other schools in Lancaster county. Affordability is a major concern for the university because as President Wubah said, “students’ financial circumstances should not stop them from pursuing a degree.”
President Wubah also noted that Millersville University has four new head coaches: Drew Folmar for football, Eric Burns for men’s and women’s tennis, Jennifer Smith for women’s basketball, and Nicole Hinkle for women’s lacrosse. He’s confident that the new additions to the university’s coaching staff will help Millersville athletics “get back to winning.”Additionally, President Wubah praised the student athletes for their commitment to their academics. In the past year over 50% of Millersville’s student athletes were named PSAC scholar athletes. He called out the women’s tennis team for having an average gpa of 3.64. President Wubah expressed how pleased he was to see that Millersville’s athletes were committed to their performance on and off the field.
Additionally, members of the council announced that Millersville University is currently undergoing an exploratory process of three year bachelor degrees. A three year bachelor degree would not be an accelerated pathway. These degrees would only require students to earn 90 credits instead of 120. A three year degree would lower the cost of attending college and make it more affordable for students. However, many are worried that a three year degree would rob students of critical time for intellectual and social development. Not to mention that the loss of 30 credits would be a significant change. There are also concerns about if jobs or graduate programs will value a three year degree the same way they do a four year degree. The university is still looking into implementing a three year degree because many students could benefit from the reduced cost, but the council maintains the idea that affordability is not the only measure of value. They still believe a four year degree is the best option for most students to provide them with experiences in and out of the classroom that they would lose with a three year degree.
Kaylee Fry, the President of the Student Government Association, gave an update on the association’s recent directives. This semester SGA will be sponsoring food trucks for students to enjoy. The food trucks will be set up at The Backyard behind the Bedford House. The trucks are there from 11:00am to 1:00pm and all food is free for students. Fry says that SGA wanted to provide students with more dining options based on feedback for last year’s polls. The next SGA sponsored food truck will be Walk-O Taco on Sept. 30. Fry also announced that SGA plans to convert the vacant banking center in the Student Memorial Center into a student resource center. Organizations will be able to store supplies in the resource center instead of having to take them home. SGA hopes to have the student resource center up and running by the end of the fall semester.
A representative from Student Lodging Inc. was also at the meeting to present a new initiative called Marauder Ready. Marauder Ready is a way for students to get their textbooks by the first day of class without having to pay for them through outside vendors. If students opt into Marauder Ready an additional charge would be added to their semester tuition. Then students would have access to the online textbooks needed for their courses by the first day of classes. This program reduces costs of textbooks anywhere from 30% to 80%. Students are able to opt out of Marauder Ready, but the goal of the program is to make sure all students are prepared for classes regardless of cost.
The Council of Trustees meeting ended with a student presentation from the archeology department. Juniors Parker Brown , Aftyn Robins , and Quinn Wattson gave an overview of their expedition at the Galbraith Ordinary Tavern. This expedition was led by Dr. Timothy Trussell. Over the summer 30 archaeology students spent their time digging for artifacts at the historic Galbraith Ordinary Tavern in Lancaster. They found the tavern’s original foundation and a number of artifacts from the 1700s to 1900s. Brown, Robins, and Wattson also shared that this upcoming summer the Archaeology Department is taking a trip to Bermuda to study the oldest standing building in the English Atlantic world. Millersville University has the only Archaeology Department doing research internationally. Dr. Trussell has high hopes for this upcoming expedition and is very excited to be able to provide students with this opportunity.
The Council of Trustees next meeting will be in December. All meetings take place in Gordinier Hall from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and are open to the public.
