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Penn State could be making some cuts. Again.
The university announced last week that administrators were recommending that up to 47 programs be chopped. Some would be from the flagship University Park campus. Others would be from commonwealth campuses.
Altoona, for example, has seven programs proposed to shutter. Another seven would be on a list for review in a few years.
That's potentially alarming as Altoona and several other locations are just a year removed from the ax that fell on other campuses. Seven will close at the end of the spring 2027 semester, casualties of similar recommendations.
Some make sense. Keep a bachelor of arts degree in one program while closing a bachelor of science degree? That's the recommendation for environmental studies at Altoona. Streamlining the program into one lane is understandable.
But closing others or putting them on some kind of review is confusing.
Education has historically been a popular major at the university, and the state has been pushing to produce more teachers. Penn State is Pennsylvania's land grant university, with a mission to provide an accessible education to residents. Yet there sits elementary and kindergarten education, set to close at multiple campuses.
There are engineering degrees and information sciences and technology on the list, two areas where Penn State has a good reputation. In an artificial intelligence world full of mobile devices and computers, how can IST be anything but secure?
Yes, this can again be about funneling multiple lanes into one path. The engineering programs, for example, are being redirected to "University College." That's shorthand for the commonwealth campuses.
But once placed there, engineering, surveying engineering and electrical engineering technology all get recommended for closure.
The list ends up feeling like a deck of cards shuffled by a master of misdirection. It also seems like the same kind of walk to the gallows faced by commonwealth campuses like New Kensington and Fayette.
This isn't set in stone. It still requires sign-off by the faculty senate before final approval. And outdated or underutilized programs should be set aside in favor of more resources directed to more popular areas.
But Penn State has gotten very accustomed to making cuts in recent years.