West Chester University and Cheyney University will send staff into high schools and host campus visits as part of Pennsylvania's first college-outreach effort coordinated across all 10 state universities.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) announced the initiative Sept. 25, with nearly 20 events planned across eastern and western Pennsylvania this fall, MyChesCo first reported. The eastern phase runs Monday, Nov. 2, through Tuesday, Nov. 10, with WCU and Cheyney among seven participating universities.

University employees will visit participating high schools and college fairs. The PASSHE Foundation will pay for buses to carry students to campuses for tours, meetings with admissions staff and financial-aid presentations. PASSHE has not identified which Chester County high schools will take part in the eastern phase.

The eastern schedule includes Lehigh Valley events Nov. 2 and 3, two Philadelphia college fairs Wednesday, Nov. 4, and the Sen. Haywood College Fair in Philadelphia Thursday, Nov. 5. Students from participating schools will also travel to East Stroudsburg University Friday, Nov. 6, and Commonwealth University-Lock Haven Tuesday, Nov. 10.

PASSHE cited a 2025 Ipsos study that found 70% of students and families visited a campus before deciding where to enroll. Funding bus transportation targets students who might not otherwise make the trip.

PASSHE Chancellor Christopher Fiorentino said students should be able to explore college in ways that work for them. "Whether by visiting a campus or connecting with our universities closer to home," he said in the announcement.

PASSHE Foundation President and CEO Shelley Scherer said a campus visit can turn college from an idea into something students can picture for themselves.

The push follows an earlier pilot in Philadelphia. A western Pennsylvania phase runs Monday, Sept. 28, through Friday, Oct. 2, with visits to PennWest University's Edinboro, Clarion and California campuses, Slippery Rock University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Both local universities enter with momentum. West Chester led PASSHE in new student enrollment in fall 2025, drawing more than 3,000 first-year students and 1,040 transfers among 17,400 total, according to a PASSHE press release. Cheyney posted a 37.9% enrollment increase that year, its highest total since 2014, with new freshman enrollment up 144%.

Systemwide, PASSHE's fall 2025 enrollment climbed to about 83,000 students, the first increase in more than a decade. In-state undergraduate tuition for 2026-27 is $8,338 a year, which PASSHE calls the lowest university tuition in the state. A "PASSHE Pledge" scholarship announced in July 2026 will cover remaining tuition for students who receive both a federal Pell Grant and a PA State Grant, starting fall 2027.

Additional outreach events are planned for the spring semester. PASSHE has not published a registration link or sign-up deadline for the eastern phase events.