YOUNGSTOWN Board of Regents offers praise to YSU
An enrollment goal is 14,000, with 20 percent living on or near campus.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Consistent enrollment increases at Youngstown State University show that YSU is providing the community with what it needs, a state higher education official said.
"Youngstown State University is helping serve the needs of the market and I think that's terrific," said Roderick G. W. Chu, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. "They're meeting the needs of the market and the market has spoken."
YSU's enrollment figures increased this fall to about 12,900. It is the seventh straight semester that enrollment has gone up and is a 9.1-percent increase since 2000, said YSU President David C. Sweet.
Held meeting
Chu and members of the Board of Regents visited YSU this week, holding their monthly meeting on campus Thursday. It is the first time in more than six years that the panel convened in Youngstown.
Chu commended university officials for the new $22 million, 408-student University Courtyard apartments; a new Early College High School project that will bring Youngstown City Schools students on campus in fall 2004; and the expected spring groundbreaking of a new recreation and wellness center.
Such projects, he said, not only improve the YSU campus but "serve as a catalyst of community involvement and pride."
Regents Chairman Thomas W. Noe gave Sweet a nod for increasing enrollment, strengthening community partnerships, developing a master plan and centennial strategic plan and working with the city on community development.
In comments to the board, Sweet called YSU, "the best public university in Northeast Ohio, and beyond, to obtain an undergraduate education."
Open-access policy
Representing a component of the diversity of Ohio higher education, YSU is an urban institution with an open-access policy, Sweet pointed out.
"We do not judge students on their past experiences but give everyone an opportunity to succeed," he added. "For many, we're the only choice."
Urban universities like YSU offer an opportunity for students who are excluded from traditional schools with competitive admissions policies.
Students also move through college amidst other responsibilities, he explained.
"Our students rarely graduate in four years," he said. "The fact is, because of the demands of work and family, they often stop out ... I think a more reasonable target is five to five-and-a-half years for urban institutions."
Chu said Sweet referred to the state Success Challenge program that rewards universities for graduating students within four years. While Chu does not support changing that program, he said it is important to work with YSU to find other programs that work for the type of students that attend. The Access Challenge program, for example, might fit the particular needs of YSU students Chu said. The program helps universities keep tuition rates down.
Sweet also told the board that, of YSU's 12,900 students, 1,400 live on or near campus. A goal is enrollment of 14,000 with 20 percent -- 2,800 -- living on or near campus. Other statistics show a 19-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio and a population that is 90 percent undergraduate and 13 percent minority, the president said.
viviano@vindy.com