Chancellor’s higher ed plan places onus on institutions

There are 13 public universities, many of them with branch campuses, and 23 community colleges in the state, and we have no doubt that Ohio’s chancellor, Eric Fingerhut, can talk about each of them without referring to his notes.

In the year and three months he has served as chancellor, Fingerhut has become a scholar of higher education in Ohio. And he has used what he has learned to develop a 10-year strategic plan that he presented to Gov. Ted Strickland.

The plan is built around the University System of Ohio, which the General Assembly created to bring about the integration of all the state’s public universities and colleges.

Whereas in the past each institution operated independently and, indeed, competed for the dwindling state dollars, under the university system, each is an integral part of the whole.

Rather than base state funding largely on enrollment, Fingerhut’s plan establishes standards by which each institution will be measured.

Universities and colleges will be evaluated on how they meet the academic goals they have established in conjunction with the chancellor and the Ohio Board of Regents.

No, Youngstown State University will not be expected to match Ohio State University insofar as its post-graduate and research programs are concerned, but it will be expected to contribute to the overall system by meeting three basic goals that apply to all institutions: graduate more students; keep more graduates in Ohio; attract degree holders from out of state.

Each institution must submit its proposed Centers for Excellence to the chancellor by Dec. 31, and we’re pleased to note that YSU has been discussing its strategy for several months now. President David Sweet acknowledges that determining “mission differentiation” will be both a challenge and opportunity for the institution.

Associate degree

YSU will join with other institutions in this area to offer two-year courses toward an associate degree and then offer students the opportunity to earn a four-year degree at the same lower cost than attending a regular four-year university.

The goal is to save YSU the money it now spends on remediation courses for incoming freshmen.

While the details of the community college for the area are still being worked out, Fingerhut says that it will have its own board of trustees and its own administration, but that courses would be offered on the campus of YSU or the branch campuses of Kent State or even the county vocational school complex.

The idea is to make higher education affordable and attainable.

What Fingerhut has proposed must be approved by the governor and the General Assembly, but the plan is worthy of serious consideration.

In 2002, YSU’s board of trustees adopted a strategic plan developed by President Sweet, his administration and the faculty. Last year, the university put in place plans for the community college, the merger of science, technology, engineering and math programs for the creation of the STEM center of excellence, and also has developed subsets within the center.

Not only will Sweet and the board of trustees be able to meet the deadline set by Fingerhut, but the plan they present will show that YSU will play an important role in the state university system.