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Ten Years of Decline Leaves Keene State College Fully Dependent on State Aid and Endowment

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KEENE, NH — Keene State College is spending nearly $100 million a year to educate fewer than 3,000 students, while reporting a $28 million operating loss in 2024 that was only covered by state aid and endowment funds. Enrollment has fallen 40% in the last decade, staff numbers are down by more than a third, and yet payroll costs continue to rise, leaving the campus reliant on volatile investment returns and taxpayer dollars to stay afloat.


The filings show Keene State spent $99,500,187 on operating expenses in 2024 while enrolling 2,851 full-time equivalent students. A decade earlier, in 2014, the college enrolled 4,751 students, marking a 40 percent enrollment decline over ten years.


Enrollment has fallen almost every year since 2014 losing nearly 2,000 students.


Faculty and staff numbers have declined in parallel. Keene State employed 945 people in 2015. By 2024, the headcount had dropped to 598, a reduction of 37%.


Despite fewer employees, payroll costs have increased. Employee compensation was $56,054,000 in 2020 and reached $57,389,000 in 2024.


The reported totals are:


Over the past four years, Keene State staff have received pay increases averaging 6% annually. This has pushed employee payroll costs higher, even as total staff numbers declined.


The difference between operating revenue and spending has been covered by endowment gains. Investment returns have varied widely. In 2022, the Keene Endowment Association reported a –10.1% loss. In 2023, the return was a +10.7% gain.


Across USNH, distributions from endowments and trust funds totaled about $41,000,000 in both 2022 and 2023. Keene State relied on its portion of those distributions to offset losses.


Financial reports show that without investment income and state funding, Keene State would have finished 2024 with the full $28 million deficit on its books.


The numbers highlight the cost imbalance. With 2,851 students enrolled in 2024 and nearly $100 million in operating expenses, Keene State spent $34,884 per student FTE to operate. That figure is higher than tuition and fees paid by most students.


The challenges contrast with other campuses in the system. Plymouth State University enrolled 3,942 students in 2024, more than 1,000 above Keene State, and reported a 13% increase in its incoming freshman class. The University of New Hampshire continues to enroll more than 15,000 students.


Keene State’s enrollment is now the smallest among the three institutions. At the same time, its operating costs remain close to $100 million annually.


The reports confirm a structural deficit at Keene State. Enrollment has dropped by 40% in a decade, staff by 37% since 2015, and yet payroll has grown. The college has not reduced expenses in line with its shrinking student body.


In fiscal year 2024, the institution’s ability to balance its budget depended entirely on a $16 million state taxpayer funded appropriation and distributions from the endowment.


The reliance on investment markets introduces significant risk. A market downturn could quickly reduce the support available from the endowment, leaving Keene State with an uncovered deficit.


The data leave little uncertainty about the trend: enrollment is shrinking, staff levels are falling, and payroll continues to rise. The operating model is sustained only by state funding and volatile endowment gains.



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