5 Pennsylvania Campuses Warn of Possible Faculty Layoffs and Program Cuts

Administrators at five Pennsylvania campuses notified the faculty union for the state’s public-university system that layoffs could be expected by the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties released a reaction statement to the news that California, Cheyney, Clarion, Edinboro, and Mansfield Universities of Pennsylvania faced potential faculty and program cuts.

The union’s president, Kenneth M. Mash, said in the statement that while the notification is not a guarantee that faculty members will be cut, it adds to an “atmosphere of uncertainty.” He said the union will negotiate with the individual universities at state and local levels.

Last year negotiations failed between the union and the 14-campus Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, resulting in a systemwide faculty strike.

Mr. Mash said per-student funding in the system dropped by more than 30 percent last year, while tuition had gone up.

“The mission of the state system is to provide a high-quality university education at an affordable price. The cost has continued to increase, and now universities are threatening to strike at quality by reducing the programs they offer students,” Mr. Mash said in the statement.

Correction (4/3/2017, 7:58 p.m.): This post originally misstated that Pennsylvania State University would be affected by the possible cuts. That university is separate from the state system. The post has been updated to reflect this correction.