Dear Penn State Community,
As promised in the recent message from President Neeli Bendapudi about next steps for Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses, we are sharing more about the guiding principles of our committee and key factors helping to inform our analyses.
Our group is focused on delivering a recommendation that reflects the current landscape and future projections in Pennsylvania and across the nation; one that creates a strong and sustainable network of Commonwealth Campuses as part of a land-grant commitment responsive to the evolving world around us.
The committee’s work has been shaped by a set of guiding principles that includes sustaining and building high-quality experiences for students, prioritizing people, being strategic and forward-looking, and advocating for investment to support long-term success.
Notably, as we continue to analyze the data and engage in meaningful conversations with our colleagues, the President has asked that the committee’s recommendation include a continued presence for Penn State in the Northeast and the Pittsburgh regions of the commonwealth.
Into every conversation and planning session, we bring a deep respect for the gravity of this moment and its implications for the future of the University, for our campuses, and for our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners.
While many of the challenges we face are not unique — they are reflective of larger national- and state-level trends affecting all of higher education — specific factors in Pennsylvania and at Penn State make the need for action urgent. These factors include:
Enrollment declines
Across the 12 campuses under consideration — Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Scranton, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York — enrollment declined by 39% over the past decade (2014-24), a decrease of 3,222 students. Penn State’s overall enrollment decreased by 4% during this same period, while University Park enrollment increased by 5%. Source: Commonwealth Campus Fall Enrollment Trends
Evolving land-grant mission
Penn State’s land-grant mission has always been about serving the commonwealth, and the composition of our campuses has evolved many times throughout our history to meet changing needs. Today, that mission is realized not only through our Commonwealth Campus ecosystem but also through Penn State Extension, World Campus, and the statewide impact of our research and industry partnerships. Together, these efforts allow Penn State to continue to be a leader in education, outreach, and innovation across Pennsylvania.
As part of our work, we are in the process of examining how other land-grant institutions fulfill their missions. No other land-grant university maintains a statewide footprint as extensive as Penn State’s 19 undergraduate-serving campuses. Instead, many peer institutions focus on fewer, larger regional campuses, robust extension programs, and strategic partnerships to provide education and service at scale.
These models offer valuable insights as we determine how Penn State can continue to lead while building a sustainable and impactful future — one that remains true to our land-grant mission while adapting to the realities, technological shifts and changing student preferences of today and tomorrow.
Population shifts
For each of the 12 campuses, residents in the county where the campus resides — along with those in the immediate surrounding counties — are the most significant sources of enrollment, with some home counties contributing up to 70% of the enrolled students at that campus. Because of this important role of campus location, county-by-county population projections are also an important guide helping us think about long-term campus viability. Source: Top 5 Student Enrollment by County
Across the country, colleges and universities are bracing for a significant decrease in traditional-age students. The so-called demographic cliff — the sharp decline in the number of high school graduates beginning in 2025 — has already begun impacting institutions, particularly those in the Northeast and Midwest.
A 2023 report from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and the Institute of State and Regional Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg projects a 5.8% population decline for rural counties in Pennsylvania by 2050, with overall growth in the state over the next 30 years expected to be lower than it was from 2010 to 2020. These projections align with similar estimates for states like Ohio and West Virginia, requiring rural communities to adapt while facing ongoing population decline.