Dive Brief:

• York College of Pennsylvania is poised to buy Pennsylvania State University’s York campus for $7.4 million.
• A Penn State board finance committee on Thursday voted in support of divesting the 53-acre campus. Penn State’s full board will vote on the matter Friday. 
• Penn State announced plans to close the York campus along with six other regional campuses last spring. York College is working with WellSpan Health, a hospital system based in York, to expand healthcare education with the campus.

Dive Insight:

While Penn State saw the York campus as a financial burden, York College said Thursday it sees the location as an opportunity.

York College President Thomas Burns said in a statement that the private college “is uniquely equipped to preserve this campus as a central educational hub.”

Early planning between York College and WellSpan call for an expansion of nursing and other healthcare education partnerships. Those partnerships include one struck last year between WellSpan and Temple University’s medical school to open a regional campus in York.

York College said it would finance the property acquisition with its endowment — last valued at $193.8 million — while WellSpan would commit “significant financial investment” toward capital improvements on the campus. According to Penn State, the campus had a nearly $30 million maintenance backlog as of last year. 

Penn State will continue operating the campus through the spring 2027 semester as previously announced. Afterward, pending approval of the sale, York College will “lead campus operations” while WellSpan will have an “operational and instructional” presence on the campus.

Penn State opted last year to close its York campus as part of a plan to shore up its central budget and refocus on its strongest areas.

At Penn State York, enrollment declined by over 40% to 703 students between 2014 and 2024, according to a university report. Enrollment declined by 15% between 2019 and 2024.

“Despite the efforts of campus leadership and faculty to stabilize enrollment through program enhancements and community outreach, the numbers have not rebounded,” Penn State administrators wrote.

Meanwhile at York College, enrollment slid 15.1% to 3,656 students between 2019 and 2022, according to federal data. But over the next two years that increased to 3,825 students. And the college says it has seen four consecutive years of increases.

In recommending the York campus closure, Penn State administrators cited the ongoing enrollment slide, as well as “regional market saturation” and “high operating costs relative to its size and scale.” 

On the last point, they pointed to challenges related to scale. Its small campus, which has 15 buildings but no student housing, made it difficult to attract students outside the commuter region. 

“While its facilities are functional, the campus lacks the infrastructure or strategic location necessary to serve as a long-term hub,” the leaders wrote in their 2025 report. “As enrollment has fallen, per-student operating costs have increased, and the campus has become increasingly dependent on central resources to remain operational.” 

As for regional competition, York College is just a mile away, as is a community college. Penn State’s own Harrisburg campus is 17 miles away, presenting internal competition. Altogether, there were 19 colleges within 30 miles of Penn State York, according to the university’s report. 

Prior to York College’s offer, local officials had asked Penn State to donate the campus for a local arts and workforce training center. 

Renata Engel, a Penn State vice president who oversees the commonwealth campuses, said in a statement Thursday, “The community planning process identified continued educational use as a priority, and this proposal would place the campus with an established local institution while also serving the University’s financial interests.”