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Colleges see rise in enrollment
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Michael Write of Youngstown is back at Youngstown State University in an attempt to get his degree. Write, 58, spent 20 years as a social worker, but was laid off . He is among many people returning to school in a down economy seeking to improve their futures through higher education.
By Darlene Wagner
TheNewsOutlet.org
Youngstown
At 58, Michael Write said he should be planning for retirement instead of starting college.
But Write said he has no hope of landing a decent job without a college degree. His lack of a degree cost him one job already, and the former social worker wants to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Write, of Youngstown, is not alone. In fact, Youngstown State University and other Ohio universities as well as trade and technical schools are seeing an increase in enrollment that some are attributing to the troubled economy.
According to a report released by YSU’s Department of Marketing and Communications, admissions are up 27 percent over the past 10 years. Spring enrollment reached an all-time high of 13,837 students.
It’s the same story at other Ohio institutions of higher learning.
The Ohio Board of Regents reports that enrollment at all the state’s public universities and colleges was up 16 percent between 1999 and 2008 and 3 percent between 2007 and 2008. The board is projecting a larger increase once the 2009 figures are tallied.
Tod Porter, professor and chairman of the department of economics at YSU, said economic downturns historically tend to be short, and despite the bleak employment outlook, college is the best place for many to be right now.
“It’s a very smart move. [Students] are preparing for the next three to four decades of their lives. While in college, you’re making a lifetime investment in your economic future,” he said.
Porter said people such as Write are returning to school because jobs once so vital to the area’s economy are becoming obsolete.
He said the Mahoning Valley has been active in producing durable goods, including cars, machine parts and rubber containers. When the unemployment rate is high, people don’t make those purchases, he said.
The Valley’s current unemployment rate, pegged at slightly more than 13 percent, is 3 percent higher than the statewide average.
“On a national level, the unemployment rates may be high for at least two more years,” he said. College enhances employment opportunities, and students will be better prepared when the recession is over, he added.
Before starting college in fall 2009, Write had been a social-service worker for more than 20 years and was laid off due to downsizing.
Write, a former Youngs-town school board member, found a part-time job as a youth advocate for Mid America Court Systems, but he said it is not enough work.
Part of his job is to counsel at-risk youths and advise them how to plan for their futures.
By enrolling at YSU, he said he has done what he advises so many of his clients to do.
“I should be planning for retirement; now I’m planning for job security,” he said.
Write also wants to improve his chances for career advancement. He said he worked for one company for 13 years and was ineligible for promotion because he didn’t have a college degree.
“I’m going to equip myself with a degree so that excuse will be off the table,” he added.
Future grads are confident they will find jobs.
Marketing-management student Josh Lee of Lutz, Fla., said he feels his chances of getting a job after graduation are great. Lee said he doesn’t let the news of a bad economy discourage him.
Lee said he plans to leave the Valley once he graduates.
Pre-nursing student Jenna Catone of Youngstown said she works less than 30 hours per week at her two part-time jobs. Catone, a lifelong Valley resident, said she is confident she will be able to get a job in the area when she graduates.
“I don’t plan on going anywhere. People will always get sick. And [area] hospitals always need nurses,” she said.
The NewsOutlet is a joint media venture by student and professional journalists and is a collaboration of Youngstown State University, WYSU Radio and The Vindicator.