Early college future brighter with community college link

There should be no hesitation on the part of the board of trustees Eastern Gateway Community College and the Youngstown Board of Education in approving a plan to secure the future of a program graded excellent by the state for high school students. Youngstown State University’s trustees already have given their approval.

With the nod from the three entities, Youngstown Early College will continue to have a presence on YSU’s campus under the university’s partnership with the Youngstown school district. The arrangement will last three years, after which the early college will operate under the auspices of Eastern Gateway.

In other words, the program for high school students with academic potential has been given a new lease on life — after several weeks of uncertainty triggered by a vote of YSU trustees.

Last month, they decided to end YSU’s relationship with Youngstown Early College on June 30.

The decision, although justified on the grounds that the university could not afford the $300,000-plus for its share of the program cost, caused an uproar in the community. In response, Scott Schulick, chairman of the YSU board, and Anthony Catale, president of the school board, created a joint committee to come up with a plan to keep the early college alive.

The result of the committee’s work is a three-year transition period that culminates in Eastern Gateway Community College replacing YSU as a partner with the Youngstown school district.

During the three years, the high school students — there are now 250 participating in the program — will continue to attend classes in Fedor Hall on YSU’s campus.

As for the cost associated with the program, the committee came up with a solution that convinced the trustees to support the plan. The per credit hour cost of $290 — it was split 51 percent city and 49 percent YSU — has been reduced to $96 a credit hour. As result of the reduction, the school district will absorb the entire cost of tuition. YSU will provide the space and other support activities.

During the transition, the school district will negotiate a tuition rate with Eastern Gateway Community College. There is every expectation that the per credit cost will be no more than what YSU is charging.

Reasonable cost

Indeed, cost has been the main reason the two-year institution was created by the state. Gov. Ted Strickland and Chancellor of Higher Education Eric Fingerhut have long argued that one way to make higher education accessible to the segment of the population that has not traditionally pursued a college degree is to make the cost of attending colleges reasonable.

Eastern Gateway is not only designed to attract new students, but is meant to give high school graduates unprepared for the rigors of a four-year institution a chance to get comfortable with college.

The early college is a proper fit with Eastern Gateway. Two-year colleges are designed to give students a chance to become familiar with higher education courses and to get into an academic routine that is different from high school.

Eastern Gateway, which began admitting students last fall, is expanding through accessibility. Course are offered at various sites in Mahoning, Columbiana, Trumbull and Jefferson counties, including vocational schools.

While four-year institutions have experienced a reduction in state funding, two-year colleges have received more money. That’s good for the EGCC-YEC connection. Chancellor Fingerhut and Gov. Strickland can be persuaded to help fund the partnership, seeing as how it meets their goals of expanding college attendance.