Penn State will not make a final decision until mid-May on which of 12 Commonwealth Campuses will be closed, President Neeli Bendapudi told the university in an email on Thursday. Bendapudi originally planned to make an announcement before spring 2025 commencement, though that decision will seemingly be pushed back until at least the May 9 Board of Trustees meeting.
Bendapudi first announced in late February that certain campuses would close and that she would make a decision by the end of the spring semester, though she added at the time that the timeline would be adjusted if needed. The campuses under consideration are Beaver, DuBois, Greater Allegheny, Fayette, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuykill, Shenango, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and York. The university’s seven largest Commonwealth Campuses and the Great Valley graduate studies campus will not be affected.
“My team has consulted with students, faculty, and staff on the timing of any announcements, and I agree with their broad recommendation to hold until after these milestone events. As a result, I have decided to delay the announcement of campus decisions until mid-May,” Bendapudi said.
“Further, the Board of Trustees plans to convene in mid-May to consider my Commonwealth Campus recommendations. Until action is taken by the board, no decisions are final. We will share advance notice of the board’s public meeting date once scheduled, and how to observe the proceedings.”
Bendapudi previously said the decision to close any campuses would fall entirely on her shoulders as president, though it now seems a board decision on Bendapudi’s recommendation will be the final authority.
“I know this delay may bring mixed emotions – relief for some, renewed frustration for others. Please know that this decision reflects our belief that you deserve both clarity and compassion,” Bendapudi wrote. “Thank you for your continued patience and commitment to Penn State and to each other. We are navigating this moment together – and we will move forward together as well.”
The campuses will remain open through the 2026-27 school year so that all students studying at those campuses as part of Penn State’s 2+2 program, which allows students to transfer campuses, or studying for an associate’s degree can finish their education.
Penn State will offer a path to finishing a degree at the university for all students at campuses that will close. The university will continue to admit students for the fall 2025 semester onto these campuses.
Penn State Commonwealth Campuses have seen a steady decline in enrollment as a whole over several years. Bendapudi has said, both publicly and privately, that there are internal documents and analyses from decades past at the university saying the restructuring of the Commonwealth Campus system would eventually be necessary. Bendapudi has declined to make those internal documents publicly available.
The closures of the campuses also come as Penn State attempts to balance its budget and figure out its deficit. Bendapudi has worked to figure out the school’s finances since she was hired, including those regarding Commonwealth Campuses.
What happens to these campuses after they’re closed is uncertain. However, lawmakers across the state have voiced opposition to campus closings, especially in their home districts, and may attempt to take legal action against Bendapudi’s decision. However, given Penn State’s standing as a state-affiliated institution and not a state-owned school, state lawmakers won’t have much power, as state Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, chair of the Pennsylvania Senate’s education committee, told StateCollege.com partner Onward State.
What is understood, however, is that the closing of campuses will have an impact outside Penn State’s borders. Those inside and outside of the university have said that closing a campus will have an economic impact on the area surrounding the campuses. With the potential departure of students at a campus who could spend money locally and the layoffs of hundreds of university employees, local economies would feel an impact.
While the university will offer a path to a Penn State degree to all students whose campuses will close, that doesn’t mean those offers will be taken. For many Commonwealth Campus students, who are statistically more likely to be in-state, lower-income students, leaving their campus isn’t an option. Students across Commonwealth Campuses told Onward State that while some of their peers would take the option to study at another campus should theirs close, many would likely transfer to a local Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education school or drop out of college completely.
