PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Penn State University says it must close a number of its branch campuses across the commonwealth. According to a letter from the university president, the Penn State community is not likely to know which campuses will close until the end of the current semester.
In his letter to the Penn State community, Neeli Bendapudi cites drops in enrollment, projected population declines in many counties that house campuses, and a failure to secure a bump in state funding as reasons for downsizing. However, she says, the seven largest commonwealth campuses will remain open: Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley.
Additionally, the graduate-focused Great Valley location, and so-called “special-mission” campuses Penn State Dickinson Law, the College of Medicine, and the Pennsylvania College of Technology are also safe.
Some, not all, of the 12 remaining campuses will close, Bendapudi says.
The task of deciding which falls to three university leaders—Margo DelliCarpini, Tracy Langkilde and Michael Wade Smith. They will lead a team to deliver a recommendation to Bendapudi by the end of the current semester. And Bendapudi expects to make a final decision by graduation.
Any campus marked for closure will shut down no earlier than the 2026-27 academic year. That means students enrolling this fall can complete an associate’s degree, and students getting a “2+2” bachelor’s should have enough time to transition to another PSU campus, before the closures are enacted.
Bendapudi says every student who begins a degree at Penn State will have the chance to complete it at the university.