HARRISBURG — The leader of Pennsylvania’s system of 14 state-owned universities, which includes Slippery Rock University, told lawmakers Tuesday that it is urgent they act to help the schools in the face of sinking enrollment, rising student debt and a lagging commitment of public tax dollars to higher education.

The system’s chancellor, Dan Greenstein, urged the House Appropriations Committee to approve legislation that would deliver cash and greater authority to the system over how it spends money and administers the schools.

Greenstein, in office since 2018, has rejected calls to close struggling schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Several schools are not sustainable without “radical transformation,” he told the committee Tuesday. But he also warned against shutting down universities when Pennsylvania needs to greatly increase the number of adults with degrees for its economy to keep pace with other states.

“This is not a time when we should be diminishing educational opportunities,” Greenstein said.

Pennsylvania has sunk to the bottom rung of states in the level of higher education aid, size of student debt and affordability of its colleges.

For this year, the system is seeking ?$9 million more, or 2%, to help keep tuition flat, in addition to another $20 million that is part of a five-year, $100 million plan to upgrade information technology, roll out online courses and more.

The system can make the budget of each university individually self-sustaining within five years, but the schools’ situation is “urgent,” and the state must act now, Greenstein said.

“They will look different, but they will be stable, and delivering the 21st-century education that our state needs,” Greenstein said.

Greenstein received some applause and some skepticism from members of the Republican majority on the panel.

The system currently receives $477 million in state aid, less than it did in the 2006-07 school year.

The universities have emerged as a top agenda item for Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat.