Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania could cut 175 jobs

Dive Brief:

• Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania could cut roughly 175 staff and faculty jobs through attrition and layoffs as it tries to close a budget gap and shore up its cash position, a spokesperson confirmed by email Wednesday.
• The public institution faces a $17 million operating deficit, Commonwealth leaders said at a recent meeting, according to a transcript obtained and published by the news outlet WETM. 
• The total number of layoffs depends on retirements and other voluntary departures, leaders said. Faculty would need to be notified in late October if they will be laid off, per a union contract.

Dive Insight:

Earlier this year, Commonwealth forecast it would run out of cash by this past April before receiving a one-time infusion of state dollars, Commonwealth President Jeffery Osgood said at the meeting. 

But even after that infusion, the university still faces deficits and cash flow pressures. And while Commonwealth has raised tuition by 4.3%, it is still building an extra $4 million into its deficit projections and budget targets to cover its cash flow and deferred maintenance needs, of which the institution has $389 million, Osgood said at the meeting.

Explaining the need for a cash buffer, Osgood brought up an example of a steam pipe rupture on its Mansfield campus that required an unplanned repair of over $700,000 — “which we did not have,” the leader said. Commonwealth had to borrow from the state college system to cover the expense. 

With roughly three-fourths of the university’s expenses tied to its workforce, job reductions would be needed to address the $17 million budget hole. 

To balance Commonwealth’s budget, administrators are contemplating cutting the equivalent of 75 faculty jobs and 99 staff jobs by next June. 

“The university’s first priority is to achieve as much of the necessary reduction as possible through voluntary means,” a university spokesperson said Wednesday by email. “Retirements, resignations, vacancies, reassignments and other recurring savings measures occurring before June 30, 2027, may reduce the number of involuntary separations ultimately required.” 

Balancing the budget is a policy imperative now. Osgood pointed to a directive from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which oversees 10 public institutions, including Commonwealth’s three campuses. 

“The system is now asking whether our operating model is sustainable, and they have provided us to answer questions about the multicampus model, including online delivery and duplicated operations,” Osgood said.

Along with balancing its budget, PASSHE now requires its colleges to be able to fully pay for all of its faculty compensation expenses with net tuition revenue. Commonwealth is currently about 15% over that threshold, Osgood noted. 

Enrollment at the university has declined since it was formed out of the merger of PASSHE’s Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities. Just between 2022 and 2024, fall head count dropped 8.1% to 11,092 students, according to federal data.