Friday, April 18, 2008
YSU’s tuition is nearly $2,000 less than the state average, the report says.
STAFF REPORT
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University charges low tuition, maintains small class sizes, retains a high percentage of students and is one of the most cost-efficient universities in Ohio, according to the Ohio Board of Regents.
Those are among the results of the Statistical Profiles for Ohio’s Colleges and Universities 2007 prepared by OBOR.
“It’s a credit to the hard work and commitment of everyone on campus and a reflection of the very best that the University System of Ohio has to offer,” said YSU President David C. Sweet.
The report shows YSU’s in-state undergraduate tuition of $6,601 this academic year is the lowest among comparable public universities in Ohio and nearly $2,000 less than the state average tuition of $8,520.
The report also shows hat YSU’s average lecture class size is 30 students, compared with the state average of 33. The average lab size was 17 at YSU, below the state average of 20.
YSU also recorded a 69 percent first- to second-year retention rate, meaning that 69 percent of full-time, degree-seeking freshmen in fall 2005 returned to YSU the next fall. That was the highest rate among open-admissions public universities in the state.
The report shows YSU spent $10,813 per student in 2005-06, the lowest per-student expenditure among comprehensive public universities in the state and well below the state average of $14,106 per student. The report also shows:
UYSU’s enrollment grew 6 percent from 1998 to 2006, compared with the statewide average of 3.5 percent for the same period.
UAt 97 percent, YSU’s pass rate on the 2005 Praxis II exam (required for teacher licensure) was the second highest among Ohio’s public universities. YSU’s pass rate on the 2005 Praxis III test (required in graduates’ first year of teaching) was 100 percent.
UFrom 2001-2006, 88 percent of YSU’s associate-degree graduates, 79 percent of bachelor’s-degree graduates and 83 percent of master’s-degree graduates had found in-state employment within six months of graduation or were known to be attending school in-state.
USixty-one percent of YSU’s “young” first-year students (those under age 20) take remedial coursework in either math or English during their first year in college, compared with 23 percent at main campuses statewide.