Penn Forward’s Access, Affordability, and Value co-chairs on creating opportunity

As co-chairs of Penn Forward’s Access, Affordability, and Value working group, Sara Bachman, dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice, and Patrick Harker, a professor and dean emeritus of the Wharton School, discuss breaking down barriers and opening pathways. 

Key Takeaways

• On the charge of the working group: “[It is] is to consider how Penn can better communicate our commitment to access, affordability, and value, which I believe are central to Penn’s ethos,” says Bachman. 
• The group is also evaluating new ways to make Penn “even more accessible to students who strive to make an impact in the world,” says Harker. 
• “I think we have the basis of what we need to put in place to achieve access, affordability, and value,” says Harker, noting existing initiatives like the Quaker Commitment and Penn First Plus.

Penn has made great strides in recent decades to expand access to its education, most recently through the Quaker Commitment, which guarantees full undergraduate tuition scholarships for families earning $200,000 or less, removing primary home equity from the financial aid assessment. 

But Penn is not done expanding access and affordability to talented students. 

As part of Penn Forward, Penn is exploring opportunities to make the cost and value of a Penn education more transparent and to ensure the University is welcoming to students of all socioeconomic groups. 

Sara Bachman, dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) and Patrick Harker, a professor of operations, information, and decisions at the Wharton School and dean emeritus, co-chair the Access, Affordability, and Value working group. Bachman has served as dean of SP2 since 2019 and Harker first came to Penn as an engineering student and a defensive tackle Quakers football player in 1977. 

Read the full interview with Dean Bachman and Dr. Harker in Penn Today.