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Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses
Pennsylvania statewide university system From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Pennsylvania State University is a geographically dispersed university with campuses located throughout Pennsylvania. While the administrative hub of the university is located at its flagship campus in Penn State University Park, the 19 additional commonwealth campuses together enroll 37 percent of Penn State's undergraduate student population.[1]
Locations of Pennsylvania State University campuses and the student enrollment of each
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Organization
Under the present administrative structure, enacted by the Penn State Board of Trustees in 2005, the 19 undergraduate campuses (not including University Park and Penn State's special-mission campus, the Pennsylvania College of Technology) are overseen by the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses. Each campus is led by a chancellor who reports to the Vice President, which replaced the previous titles of "campus dean" and "campus executive officer",[2]
All 19 campuses are considered part of Penn State's Commonwealth campus system, and all offer Penn State baccalaureate degrees. Five campuses are considered "college" campuses. Those five are Penn State Abington, Penn State Altoona, Penn State Berks, Penn State Behrend, and Penn State Harrisburg. The other fourteen campuses are referred to collectively as the "University College". These campuses, while having their own chancellor, also report to the Dean of the University College, a position concurrently held by the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses.
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List of Commonwealth campuses
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The first two years of education for any Penn State major are available at all campuses; however, some majors can be completed only at specific campuses.
- Notes
- Located next to State College, Pennsylvania.
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Campus closures
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On May 22, 2025, Penn State trustees voted to close seven of the Commonwealth campuses within two years, citing declining enrollments and financial losses. The DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York campuses are slated to close at the end of the 2026-2027 school year.[4] The closures resulted from a review of 12 of the university's 20 campuses for possible closure, ordered by Penn State President Dr. Neeli Bendapudi in February 2025. The dozen campuses reviewed included the seven chosen, as well as Allegheny, Beaver, Hazleton, Schulykill, and Scranton (which will remain open).[5] When the list of seven campuses recommended for closure leaked on May 12, the university released its 143 page report the next day.[6][7][8][9]
The report to the trustees cited "enrollment and financial decline ... and significant maintenance backlog" as justifications for the closures, adding that estimated future costs for the seven campuses included "$19 million in annual financial support, $21 million in annual overhead expenses, and more than $200 million in future facilities investment".[7] The report noted that the seven campuses "currently enroll 3.6% of Penn State's students and employ 3.4% of Penn State's faculty and 2.2% of Penn State's staff."[7] A Philadelphia Inquirer analysis of the campuses chosen for closure found that only Mont Alto had residence halls (the other six just have commuter students), and its dormitory occupancy rate (40%) was the lowest of the 12 campuses considered. Enrollments at the seven campuses had dropped between 51% and 68% from their peaks, and between 37% and 43% in the past ten years. The seven campuses had lost a total of $19.3 million in the current fiscal year. Looking at the 12 campuses reviewed, five of the seven which will close had the lowest fractions of students who were Pell Grant eligible, and five of seven also had the lowest share of "underrepresented groups".[9]
See also
References
External links
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