Public universities across Pennsylvania may have to forgo 4.25 percent of their current year appropriations as the state tries to deal with an anticipated revenue shortfall.

A request that those schools freeze part of their spending is among a variety of moves Gov. Ed Rendell is making amid the state's worsening financial outlook. It could force campuses statewide to pare more than $50 million collectively from their budgets unless the state's revenue picture improves.

Officials with some of those universities predicted yesterday that the loss would affect a range of areas from hiring and strategic planning to efforts at holding down tuition increases. It could further complicate budgeting for schools whose endowments already are feeling effects from upheaval on Wall Street.

The largest dollar amount would come from the State System of Higher Education, whose 14 state-owned campuses include California, Clarion, Edinboro, Indiana and Slippery Rock universities in Western Pennsylvania. The schools collectively could have to forgo $22.4 million of the $498.5 million state appropriation, spokesman Kenn Marshall said.

According to the governor's office, the reduction, if needed, would come from the final appropriation installment distributed in June. The idea would be to give schools enough time to prepare, said Barry Ciccocioppo, a Rendell spokesman.

Rendell officials said the other reductions would include:

• A cut of $7.3 million from the University of Pittsburgh's allocation of $170.7 million;

• A $14.4 million cut from Penn State University's $338 million appropriation;

• A $7.5 million reduction in Temple University's $175 million allocation; and

• A $616,000 cut in Lincoln University's $14.5 million appropriation.

"We think that we can cover it primarily through reserves and through deferring the filling of some vacancies," Pitt spokesman Robert Hill said. "We have to look unit by unit to find the most effective way and the least intrusive way" to cut back.

Lisa Powers, a spokeswoman for Penn State, noted that her school already has had to absorb two mid-year reductions since 2001.

"It's made it difficult to keep tuition at an affordable level for many Pennsylvania families and to continue our strategic plans as we have laid them out," she said. "A possible recession would certainly present some hard choices for universities and those choices could have far-reaching consequences for Pennsylvania."

Mr. Rendell previously ordered a state hiring freeze, suspended out-of-state travel by employees and pared $200 million from Pennsylvania's $28.2 billion budget.

State revenues are down for the third month in a row. Collections so far for the fiscal year that started July 1 are roughly $5.8 billion. That's $281.4 million, or 4.7 percent, under expectations.