📉 Temple’s retention woes | Morning Newsletter

Happy Monday. We’ve got sunny skies and highs near 70 to look forward to this afternoon.

Today, we start with a cautionary tale in higher education: Temple University tried to fix declining enrollment, but in doing so contributed to a retention slump.

Then, we check in on the growing measles outbreak in Chester County and explain how health officials are working to slow the spread.

Plus, Philadelphia braces for Medicaid changes, and more news of the day.

— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Dropouts increase

A few years ago, Temple University made a big bet. In order to reverse a slide in enrollment, it would recruit more low-income, first-generation college students.

Now, an Inquirer investigation has found that with that effort, a different problem has emerged. Just 77% of freshmen returned for their sophomore year in 2026, part of a yearslong slide in retention.

What students are saying: Five former students told The Inquirer that Temple did not do enough to help them before they dropped out. “I was totally on my own,” said Briana Duka, who said she left Temple in 2023 with no degree and more than $30,000 in debt.

What professors say: Some professors described falling grades and students unprepared for college coursework. “It’s ethically dubious to accept students” without giving them enough support to succeed, said Steve Newman, an associate professor of English.

Temple’s perspective: Temple president John Fry acknowledged that the university had work to do to boost retention, and said he had made that metric a focus this academic year.

Read on for the full investigation and how Temple plans to reverse this trend.

‘A race with the disease’

As Pennsylvania grapples with its largest measles outbreak in more than three decades, cases are surging in one corner of our region: Chester County.

That county has more measles cases than most entire states in the country, with a total of 83.

The local outbreak started in the more rural, western part of the county in June. Now, the county health department is trying to limit the spread from west to east, before it can hit more densely populated areas closer to Philly. By virtue of how contagious measles is, the disease spreads rapidly in unvaccinated pockets even as the overall vaccination rate in Chester County is relatively high.

“Public health is now in a race with the disease,” said Dale Weiser, the clinical services supervisor for Chester County’s health department.

Read on for The Inquirer’s full report.

What you should know today

• Philadelphia has launched an effort to keep eligible residents on Medicaid as the requirements to maintain coverage change per last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to roll back an anti-corruption rule that limits political donations by the companies that manage public pension funds, of which there are hundreds in Pennsylvania.
• Storm measures put in place after Hurricane Sandy helped prep the Jersey Shore for last week’s nor’easter.
• New 76ers LeBron James and Jaylen Brown had their first on-court appearance with the team last weekend.
• Sunday was the first Eagles game with new tailgating rules in place at the Linc.

Quote of the day

Hundreds of backseat drivers gathered in Headhouse Plaza on Saturday to watch 14 people compete in the first-ever Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association Championship.

The Inquirer’s Stephanie Farr was there.

🧠 Trivia time

Pennsylvania is home to the largest U.S. market for what?

A) Shoes

B) Potatoes

C) Whiskey

D) Online gambling

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re…

🏡 Chronicling. A Germantown woman turned her group house into an intentional “Christ-centered” home. The Inquirer’s Zoe Greenberg reports on what makes their unique living arrangement work.

🥖 Perfecting. Quick, what makes the perfect Italian hoagie? With this interactive graphic, you can build your ideal Italian sandwich and see just how popular your choices are.

📰 Considering. Inquirer opinion columnist Paul Davies writes that the controversial steps taken in a case now roiling the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office happened dozens of other times, betraying a problematic pattern.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Eagles’ running back injured during Sunday’s game against the Rams.

BALONEY QUARKS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Congrats to Helen Duncan who correctly guessed Sunday’s anagram: Atlantic City. Officials identified the remains of a man found 45 years ago off the coast of this Jersey Shore city as Glen Napoleon Burbage, a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer.

Photo of the day

📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story

This is your weekly chance to share a moment that made you feel connected to Philly or fellow Philadelphians. Think of a time you felt you truly belonged in Philly, an iconic day in Philly history that you witnessed, or something that made you fall in love with the city. Then, email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

Today’s “only in Philly” story comes from reader Jeffrey Rosenberg, who describes a chance encounter that led to a lifelong friendship:

When Rick Millan walked into my Queen Village dental office in 1983, he had more than a toothache. His father was dying in a Philly hospital and had lost so much weight, his dentures didn’t fit. Rick asked me if I could help.

I did and went to the hospital, refitted his father’s teeth, and then we became best friends.

He asked me to pray for his father at a broken-down Kesher Israel synagogue around the corner at 412 Lombard St. That led to us spearheading a crusade to renovate the nearly 150-year-old synagogue. But one thing was always missing, the right Rabbi.

That has all changed with the arrival of Michael Perice, an admitted opioid addict in recovery, and a passionate dynamo from the pulpit. He’s one of a kind, and so is Kesher, which means “Connection.”

The Synagogue is new again!

👋 What a colorful journey from the 1980s to today. See you all tomorrow!

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