Penn State weighs campus closures

Facing enrollment challenges and financial pressures, Pennsylvania State University is launching a review to determine which of its Commonwealth Campuses will be closed in coming years.

Of 19 Commonwealth Campuses, 12 will be considered for closure.

President Neeli Bendapudi wrote in a letter to the community that the seven largest Commonwealth Campuses (separate from the flagship at University Park) will remain open. Those sites are in Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg and Lehigh Valley. The Great Valley campus, which focuses on graduate education; Penn State Dickinson Law; the College of Medicine; and the Pennsylvania College of Technology are also safe.

Bendapudi announced the review Tuesday, writing, “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. Given these realities, we must make hard decisions now to ensure Penn State’s future remains strong. It has become clear that we cannot sustain a viable Commonwealth Campus ecosystem without closing some campuses.”

While she indicated that “not all 12 campuses can continue, it is equally clear that a number of them will.”

Bendapudi added that no site will be shut down before the 2026–27 academic year, that Penn State will continue to recruit and admit students for this fall at all campuses, and that “every student who begins a Penn State degree will have the opportunity to complete it at Penn State.”

Additionally, she said faculty and staff at closed campuses may be reassigned elsewhere.

Bendapudi noted officials will share data “in the coming days” on enrollment, demographics and other metrics to “​​help the community understand some of the factors informing their process.” The announcement comes amid recent concerns that closures were looming across the system, with employees pressing the administration to share more details about the potential changes.