On Feb. 25, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi announced that 12 of the 19 commonwealth campuses across Pennsylvania may close.
In a press release, Bendapudi states “Yet despite these efforts, enrollment at many of our Commonwealth Campuses continues to decline and many of the counties that host these campuses are expected to decrease in population for the next 30 years.”
The president said that the seven largest campuses – Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg and Lehigh Valley – would remain open. These campuses make up 75% of the Commonwealth Campus enrollments and 67% of campus faculty and staff.
The campuses that are at risk of closing are: Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazelton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Scranton, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York.
The Commonwealth Campuses will continue to admit new students for fall 2025.
No campus has been identified to be closed before the end of the 2026-27 year, which Bendapudi believes gives enough time for students enrolled in the fall of 2025 to complete an associate’s degree or get far enough in their 2+2 bachelor’s degree to transition to another campus.
In the press release, Bendapudi states, “Every student who begins a Penn State degree will have the opportunity to complete it at Penn State.”
A final recommendation on which Commonwealth Campuses will close will be made at the end of the spring semester and the decision will be made before spring commencement.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
