TROY — Students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are planning a protest Wednesday afternoon to voice their concerns over the university’s financial position and what they describe as a planned administrative takeover of the student union.

The protest is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. outside the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. President Shirley Ann Jackson is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting inside at 3 p.m.

The demonstration comes on the heels of a new report from Inside Higher Ed (picked up by the Washington Post), which listed Rensselaer as one of more than 400 schools on shaky financial ground with the U.S. Department of Education. Rensselaer was required to post a $4 million letter of credit last fall for failing the department’s financial responsibility test, which a number of financial analysts say uses outdated accounting definitions and standards.

The university issued the following response in a letter to alumni last week: