‘All options are on the table.’ PA lawmakers ask Penn State about future of commonwealth campuses
Two Pennsylvania state house representatives sought answers about the future of Penn State’s commonwealth campus system — an issue that has continued to cause a lot of uncertainty and low morale at campuses — but university President Neeli Bendapudi didn’t give away any new information.
During a state house appropriations committee hearing Thursday, state lawmakers asked the presidents of state-related universities questions ranging from performance-based funding and DEI to research and freedom of speech.
During the hearing, Republican Rep. Jamie Barton, who represents the 124th district which has two Penn State commonwealth campuses, asked for an update on the viability of the campuses.
Penn State has 19 commonwealth campuses in addition to University Park. Last year, the university offered a buyout program at the campuses, which resulted in an overall 10% reduction in personnel, implemented a regional leadership model that has many commonwealth campuses being led by one administration, and leaned more heavily into shared services among campuses. More recently, Penn State’s budget allocations for the fiscal year 2026-27 shows funding for commonwealth campuses will be cut by about 7%, or about $25 million.
Bendapudi said they are “carefully looking” at each campus and ensuring every student is getting the best Penn State experience they can. She mentioned things like the VSIP and regionalization of services as ways to cut costs and be good stewards of tuition dollars.
Barton asked if shuttering any of the campuses was a real possibility. Bendapudi said “all options are on the table.”
“We’ve talked about it for a while, sir, and from the get-go, I’ve been open in saying all options are on the table. Clearly, we want to try everything, and as part of the workforce, we’ve done reviews, we met with local communities. Our highest priorities are people. What will we do with our students? How do they have a great experience? You start at Penn State, you finish at Penn State. Those are things that we are looking at. Everything is on the table when we continue to discuss,” Bendapudi said.
Republican state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa represents parts of Fayette County in the 51st district, which has a commonwealth campus. If the area lost the campus, the effects would be “devastating,” she said.
“I have to say that our Fayette County Penn State branch campus is just an amazing part of our community, not just the educational impact that it has on our local students, but for the community at large. It adds a cultural value, arts, diversity, an economic boost, and my daughter is in her third year there in the nursing program. They have a wonderful four-year nursing program, as I’m sure you’re aware, but to cut that from our community would just be devastating,” Krupa said.
Bendapudi was again asked if there are any plans to close campuses.
“Everything is on the table Representative, and respectfully, that is the challenge that we have these incredible campuses that do so much. And we need to look at both, what kind of student experience is it? What are we delivering on it? And where is the investment in it? What is our future? So we’re looking at all of them,” Bendapudi said.
She said they’re not considering a blanket closure of all campuses. She didn’t give examples of factors that could make a campus more vulnerable as they’re looking at them but again pointed to the student experience, graduation rates and future potential.
Krupa asked in the event any campuses are closed if there will be a phased approach so that any student who starts there can finish there. Bendapudi said they haven’t made decisions about that.
“We are looking at this so carefully. As you can see, it’s Penn State, we care about our students, we care about our faculty and our staff and the communities. That is critically important to us, and the decisions are still being discussed,” Bendapudi said.
This isn’t the first time Penn State leadership hasn’t given a direct answer on if campus closures are in the future. Rumors have been circulating about the possibility and during a faculty senate meeting last month, about a dozen professors spoke out about it. When directly asked in the meeting, leadership didn’t give a yes or no answer about the future of the commonwealth campus system.
During the meeting, Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for commonwealth campuses and executive chancellor, acknowledged the “very challenging times” that not only Penn State is experiencing, but higher education as a whole. She said enrollment is something the commonwealth campuses continue to struggle with, and student success and experience is the “guiding light” used to make decisions for the future.
The administration is putting together all of the feedback gathered during collaborative planning sessions, data from the academic program portfolio review and enrollment data, DelliCarpini said at the time. The current campus ecosystem is not sustainable in how it is currently operating, she said.
