State’s higher education plan prompts concerns about YSU

When former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and his chancellor of higher education, Eric Fingerhut, rolled out the University System of Ohio several years ago, we gave our support because there was a clear understanding of how Youngstown State University would fit into the scheme, and what was expected of YSU and the community at large to meet the goals established by the Ohio Board of Regents.

In other words, the 14 public universities and colleges in Ohio were all participants in the university system.

Democrats Strickland and Fingerhut are now gone, replaced by Republican Gov. John Kasich and Republican Chancellor Jim Petro. Eight months in office and Gov. Kasich has put his stamp on higher education in Ohio. On Aug. 11, Petro, former state attorney general, unveiled the Enterprise University Plan, which charts a new course for higher education. According to a statement released by the chancellor’s office, the plan allows the state’s public universities and colleges to be “free from mandates which stifle efficiency and innovation.”

But there’s a price to be paid for shedding the mandates: The institutions would have to give up some of the money they now receive from state government.

“Ohio’s universities are a driver of economic development in the state,” Petro said during the unveiling. “By allowing our universities to be free from mandates and operate as an enterprise of the state, Ohioans gain increased efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness that will help drive our 21st Century economy.”

Legislation will be required to put the Enterprise University Plan in motion, which means there should be committee hearings in the General Assembly.

In the spirit of political bipartisanship that Gov. Kasich has advocated, we would hope that the Republican majority in the House and Senate would give the Democratic minority an opportunity to fully explore what Petro has laid out.

This is especially important to regions like the Mahoning Valley, which is served by Youngstown State.

The overarching question that warrants a clear answer is this: What will happen to the open admission, urban university that is designed to make higher education accessible to as broad a segment of the population as possible? A large number of YSU students are the first in their families to seek a college degree.

While the very large universities, such as Ohio State and Cincinnati, are excited about shedding mandates, including the one that eliminates the statutory enrollment limits for them and Bowling Green, Kent State and Miami, we wonder what effect that would have on an institution like YSU.

Branch campuses

We have long challenged the notion of having Kent State’s two-year branch campuses scattered throughout the region served by YSU, and now wonder abut the removal of the enrollment caps.

The plan would also give boards of trustees more authority than they now have, which raises the issue of transparency. We understand the need to allow universities to “drive economic development through innovation,” as Petro put it, but a one-size-fits-all strategy will not work. Ohio is too diverse and the higher education needs of the population too varied.

Institutions like YSU have an important role to play, and we will be watching closely to see how that role is defined in the Kasich administration’s plan for higher education in Ohio.