Penn State’s fiscal year 2028 budget reflects campus closures and cuts. 5 takeaways

Penn State released budget allocations for fiscal year 2027-28 showing an overall 1.1% decrease, or $24.6 million, in unit-based allocations. The numbers reflect the planned closure of seven commonwealth campuses at the end of spring 2027.

FULL STORY: Penn State released budget allocations for fiscal year 2028. See the changes

Here are the highlights:

• Seven commonwealth campuses — DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York — are excluded from the new budget allocations entirely, as they close after the spring 2027 semester. The Vice President of Commonwealth Campuses allocation was cut nearly 59%, dropping from $19.8 million to about $8.1 million.

• WPSU’s budget line disappeared completely. The admin support allocation shows a 100% funding decrease after the board agreed to sell WPSU’s operating assets to WHYY.

• Among University Park colleges, Engineering saw the largest dollar increase at about $4.9 million (3.71%), while Earth and Mineral Sciences saw the largest dollar decrease at about -$2.08 million (-3.92%). University Park colleges overall lost about $5 million, bringing total funding to roughly $856.5 million.

• Senior Vice President for Finance and Business/Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Sara Thorndike called the projected changes “modest,” crediting temporary funding adjustments — including $10 million in provost academic subvention to commonwealth campuses and covering a $4 million reduction for the Office of Physical Plant with investment income outside the model.

• The FY2028 budget goes before the trustees for approval in July. The allocations do not yet include funds for employee compensation and benefits increases, with additional funding expected.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.