UNIVERSITY PARK – Members of the University Faculty Senate and President Neeli Bendapudi discussed the president’s recent update on the future of the Commonwealth Campus system, as well as other business, during the senate’s Tuesday, Feb. 25 meeting.
A video recording of the full meeting can be found on the senate’s website.
LEARN MORE: Full details about the path forward for the University’s Commonwealth Campuses are available at this link.
In a message to the University community earlier on Tuesday, Bendapudi said the University’s seven largest campuses – Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley – plus Great Valley will remain open and will continue to receive investment. However, declining enrollment, long-term demographic trends and financial pressures mean it will be necessary to close a number of the other 12 campuses in order to sustain a viable Commonwealth Campus ecosystem.
“My commitment to the Penn State mission and my appreciation for the importance of the Commonwealth Campus ecosystem is deep and abiding,” Bendapudi said. “I believe in the work of advancing education, and I believe in the role that we play in uplifting Pennsylvania.”
Questions about how these decisions would impact the students, faculty and staff at those campuses were the focus of the meeting for a number of hours, with senators inquiring about topics including how the reduced number of campuses would impact the budget model, what opportunities might exist for faculty and staff elsewhere at the University, and how students will be accommodated if faculty leave campuses slated to close. Some senators also raised concerns about how decisions by the administration are made and whether principles of shared governance are being followed. A few senators said they understood the reasons behind the decision.
Bendapudi acknowledged that specific answers to a number of these questions were not yet available, and the committee would be consulting with students, faculty and staff over the next two months to work out the details.
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde added that the decision about the campuses would be announced before the Spring 2025 Commencement.
The senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal tasking the Senate Committees on Faculty Affairs, Intra-University Relations and University Planning with reporting to the Senate and the University’s faculty each meeting on consultation with the administration on the decision on campus closures.
The senate also directed its leadership to identify and task the appropriate committees with developing a formal report requesting the administration to present a preliminary plan on mitigating the impacts of campus closures to the senate before decisions are made, based on a motion from the floor. The report is expected to be presented at the senate's April 1 meeting.
A motion for the senate to take a vote of no confidence in President Bendapudi’s leadership was brought to the floor, but the Senate voted to table the motion.
Bendapudi also highlighted key points from the update she shared with the Penn State community regarding recent executive actions and policy proposals from Washington, D.C., and answered senators’ questions, ranging from what types of action Penn State would take, to what plans are in place for different scenarios and what impact these actions could have on the University’s budget.
Committee reports
Senate committees tasked with working in tandem with University leaders on various initiatives also reported on their progress:
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The Committees on Curricular Affairs, Education, and Intra-University Relations reported that the first of the four reports the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) working groups have been compiling is set to publish soon on the University’s APPR website. The next two workstream reports will be released shortly afterward. Dan Jackson, associate teaching professor of physics at Penn State Lehigh Valley and tri-chair of the APPR committee, reiterated that each document or dataset released is just one metric that will be combined and analyzed as part of the overall review process.
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The Committees on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity; and the University Planning committee heard a presentation from Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read about research funding at Penn State within the framework of the budget model.
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The Committees on Faculty Affairs, Intra-University Relations, and University Planning also reported consultation with Read, who spoke with the committees about how indirect costs from federally sponsored research work and potential budget impacts if the amount of indirect cost recovery for research projects is cut. The committees also heard from Intercollegiate Athletics and the College of Medicine and reviewed their budgets.
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The Committee on Admission, Records, Scheduling and Student Aid; and the Committee on Education reported progress on the implementation of blended leaning programs. The committees met with representatives of the administration to discuss potential pain points in implementing blended programs (academic programs that begin through World Campus then transition to in-person instruction) and identified how to address those challenges, as part of the process of preparing a request for proposal (RFP).
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The Committee on Faculty Benefits received an updated version of the annual benefits report, which the committee plans to review and present to the full senate at its April 29 meeting.
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The Committee on Faculty Affairs had no updates to report on the length of non-tenure-line contracts at Commonwealth Campuses.
Other Senate Business
The senate also:
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Voted to revise two separate senate policies related to transfer credits. The changes made to Senate Policy 42-82 will allow credits by examination or through a portfolio at other institutions to transfer over to Penn State, when appropriate. Courses reviewed by the National College Credit Recommendation Service will be considered for a transfer of course credit under the updated Senate Policy 42-99.
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Voted against an advisory and consultative proposal to pilot the First Day by Course Program, offered through Barnes & Noble. This proposal stems from an advisory and consultative report that the senate passed in April to make changes to Bursar Billing that were aimed at increasing affordability of textbooks and other course materials for students.
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Heard a report and held a discussion on the process and protocol for revising online World Campus courses.
The next regular meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held at 1:30 p.m. April 1 via Zoom and in person at 112 Kern Building.
About Faculty Senate
The University Faculty Senate is a legislative body comprised of 200 faculty, elected by their peers from each college and campus. The senate also includes representatives from the undergraduate and graduate student body and University administration. The senate holds legislative authority on educational matters including curriculum, student policies, admissions, and retention/graduation requirements. The senate also serves as an advisory and consultative body to the University administration, a process referred to as shared governance.