Last Tuesday, Penn State University’s President Neeli Bendapudi wrote a letter announcing that a host of PSU’s Commonwealth Campuses will likely be closing.

PSU Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley are said to remain open. These seven campuses make up 75% of PSU’s total Commonwealth Campus enrollments and 67% of campus faculty and staff, reports Bendapudi.

However, 12 other branch campuses unfortunately remain in a risky limbo. According to Bendapudi’s announcement letter, Pennsylvania’s population in these Counties may decrease over the next 30 years.

The potentially affected campuses are Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Scranton, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York.

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While many students are concerned about their future at the PSU System, President Bendapudi has claimed that the campuses identified for closure will not close before the end of the 2026-27 academic year. Associate degree students enrolling in fall 2025 will have enough time to complete their degrees, and 2+2 bachelor’s degree students will have enough time to reach the point at which they would transition to another Penn State campus.

Bendapudi’s team, Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Michael Wade Smith will bring the final recommendation soon as to the fate of many Penn State University campuses.