At YSU, new academic year brings new opportunities

A year ago, the weeks leading up to the start of the new academic year at Youngstown State University were marked by turmoil and public concern. A strike by the unions representing the classified employees and the faculty made the opening of the fall semester uncertain. Fortunately, the labor strife ended in time for classes to begin on schedule.
But the price YSU must now pay for the contracts it entered into with the various unions will become one of the challenges this year. That's because even with a tuition increase of 5.75 percent, which will add $364 a year to in-state tuition for a total of $6.697, the university still faces some budgetary hardships.
As President Dr. David Sweet noted in his "State of the University Address" Monday to the campus community, a repeat of recent reductions in state funding for higher education is a real possibility. That's because Ohio will have a new biennial budget, the first enacted under the Tax Expenditure Limitation which places a 3.5 percent limit increase in aggregate state spending.
Such a cut, over the cuts YSU already has had to absorb -- plus the cost of the new labor contracts and the pay raises for other employees -- would make another tuition increase inevitable.
But all is not doom and gloom. YSU is ideally positioned to gain from the large number of Delphi Packard Electric and General Motors workers who are taking buyouts and, thus, will be looking for other employment opportunities. It is noteworthy that Sweet, in his address, discussed the university's role in providing opportunities for individuals looking to change careers.
"Our goal must be to increase the college-going rates in the Valley," the president said. Such growth is not only necessary to keep YSU vibrant and to silence decision-makers in Columbus who argue that the time has come to streamline Ohio's higher education system, but it is essential for the financial viability of the institution.
Marketing tools
Good things are happening at YSU, both academically and in the appearance of the campus and the surrounding area, which make marketing the university less of a challenge than it was in the past. From a visual standpoint, the new bridges over the Madison Expressway, with the decorative brick, pleasing landscaping and the eye-catching "Y" provide a good first impression of the university neighborhood.
Sweet and Hunter Morrison, director of YSU's Center for Urban and Regional Studies, both urban planning specialists, have long advocated sprucing up the entryways to the city and the central business district as a way of changing the negative impression people have of Youngstown.
In his address, the president also pointed to the larger student body, new degree offerings, partnerships with community groups to advance YSU's mission, increased minority representation among students and staff and the creation of a labor/management council to improve the campus labor climate as other positive steps that have been taken to enable the institution achieve its fullest potential.
That said, we view YSU's financial health as the overarching issue requiring the full attention of the president, the administration and the trustees. If there is an expectation that state funding will again be reduced or remain stagnant, operational costs must be slashed before any thought is given to increasing tuition.
YSU's affordability has long been its major selling point. But annual tuition increases are beginning to take their toll on the student body.