Last chance: Penn State New Kensington, Fayette welcome final 2-year class before impending closure

Bailey Maschok always knew she wanted to spend two years studying at Penn State New Kensington and finish her degree at the university’s main campus in State College.

“I’m really grateful I made the cutoff to do two years here before going up to main campus,” said Maschok, 18, of Washington Township. “I definitely knew I needed to work my way up to get to main (campus), so that’s why I applied to New Kensington. I figured that would be a better fit for me.”

She’ll also be one of the last people to do so.

Maschok is part of the last two-year class accepted to Penn State New Kensington and six other Penn State branch campuses: Fayette, Shenango, DuBois, Mont Alto, York and Wilkes-­Barre.

Citing declining enrollment and finances at those campuses, university trustees in May voted 25-8 to close those seven campuses after the spring 2027 semester.

Monday was the first day of classes this fall in the Penn State system.

Maschok, a Kiski Area graduate and public relations major, said there would be some impact on her future had Penn State New Kensington not been an option.

She’s able to commute from home and save money, and the smaller class sizes at New Kensington make way for individualized attention from professors, she said.

“I probably would have gone to a branch campus, but this one is closer to my house, and more kids I know from (Kiski Area) are going here,” she said.

The small-campus feel also was a priority for Penn State Fayette freshman Aiden McFarlane, 18, of Prince George’s County, Md.

He also plans to spend two years at Fayette before transferring to the main campus, called University Park, to complete his degree.

“It’s a weird feeling to know once I’m gone, it’s gonna be gone, too,” McFarlane said of Fayette.

Fayette sophomore Sutton Boriack has similar plans. She is studying to become a veterinarian, and Penn State offers Boriack’s final required courses only at University Park.

“I was disappointed, because it’s such a lovely campus, and I think it’s a great asset to the people who live around here,” said Boriack, 19. “But as far as my own education, I wasn’t too concerned, because I’d be moving on to the main campus anyway.”

A Penn State spokeswoman said official enrollment data won’t be available until the university’s fall census report is released later in the semester.

Penn State New Kensington English professor Andrea Adolph said it appears enrollment numbers seemed to be “just down a tick” at her campus and a bit higher at Fayette.

“For this class, they entered with the knowledge of what is happening and probably have plans to continue at another campus,” said Adolph, who is a former director of academic affairs at Penn State New Kensington.

Although knowing it’s the “last first class” at the campuses, the feeling on campus is positive with students being back, she said.

But she also noted some New Kensington staff left for other jobs outside the Penn State system this summer.

“A lot of us are uneasy about what comes next, because there’s no distinguishable plan,” Adolph said. “I think a lot of folks would really prefer a more specific set of details.”

For faculty at closing campuses, there’s an online webpage of frequently asked questions about future steps and the announcement that Penn State rolled out a priority hiring consideration process for staff and non-tenure-line faculty elsewhere in the system, Adolph said.

“I think the information is still a bit sketchy for (second-year students) that can’t finish four years at this campus or can’t transfer to other campuses,” she said.

Adolph, who teaches a seminar course for first-year students, said it seems there are more students who are “division of undergraduate studies” or undeclared or undecided about their majors. Her theory is that those students did so possibly to make way for more flexibility with courses, transfers and paths, she said.

One of those students is Hayden Emanuele, 18, of Plum. He plans to complete two years at New Kensington and is considering a plan to study public policy, possibly finishing that degree at Penn State Harrisburg.

A graduate of Redeemer Lutheran School, he, too, was set on attending Penn State New Kensington and had no hesitation to do so despite news of its pending closure.

“There’s at least a plan in place,” Emanuele said. “I was assigned a navigation coach. It wasn’t an immediate decision. There is a transition period in place.

“I don’t know where I would have ended up or what I would have done otherwise. I’m sure things would have worked out, but it would have been very different.”

Adolph said faculty will absorb the questions their students have about the future and answer and advise them the best they can.

“That’s why we’re here,” she said. “We want to be in a teaching-focused environment. We do what we do for the students.”

Even with the impending closure, Maschok said, she’s pleased to have chosen Penn State New Kensington.

“It’s always been one of my biggest goals to come to Penn State for college,” she said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to meet new people and further my education.”