Some of the Commonwealth Campuses are already starting to feel the effects of the most recent state budget cuts and the freezing of funds by Gov. Robert P. Casey -- and students may be affected next.

"It's getting to the point where we can't make adjustments without cutting programs," said Donald Hartman, executive officer of the DuBois Campus. "How can we add programs that people need?"

If the campus continues to have open faculty positions and can't fill them, class size will increase and less space will be available to incoming students, Hartman said.

"And it could get to the point when we have to tell people that we have no space for them," he said.

Hartman said he hopes the campus will not have to increase class size because he isn't sure how to create additional class sections.

"Faculty can only read so many essays and there is only so much space in labs," he added.

The campus is working well below this year's original budget, Hartman said.

The budget has been "holding steady" so far, he said, adding that he doesn't know how the campus will respond in the future.

Two positions -- one faculty and one staff -- are open at the DuBois Campus but there are currently no plans to fill them. And a planned nursing program was dropped at the campus because of lack of funds, Hartman added.

Robert Arbuckle, executive officer at the New Kensington Campus, said the campus also has had to make adjustments.

For example, a faculty position and a technical position are open but cannot be filled due to a lack of money, he said.

"I hope (the cuts don't) impact the quality of education we provide," he said.

The question of whether to fill vacant faculty positions also surfaced at the Schuylkill Campus, said Wayne Lammie, executive officer.

"I'm having doubts about filling a position," he said.

Lammie said the campus has encountered a lack of resources.

"We haven't been told exactly what is going to be cut but we are thinking about those deductions," he added.

The campus normally hires some part-time faculty to teach classes but is not hiring as many now, Lammie said. That means bigger classes and fewer courses from which to pick, he said, adding that students could get shut out of some sections.