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Jim Tressel talks about goals for YSU
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Next year, Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel hopes to attract students from 60 counties to campus, up from 54 this year.
“This year, we’re going to visit not just high schools in October, November and January, but at some of the schools in the biggest counties, we’re going to visit in the evening and invite parents,” Tressel said during a Monday morning interview on Vindy Talk Radio.
At those sessions Tressel wants to discuss stemming the tide of student debt.
The College Scorecard released last week by the U.S. Department of Education shows the median debt for YSU graduates at about $28,000. It’s the second highest, behind Central State University, of the state’s 12 public, four-year universities. Central State median debt for graduates is more than $39,000.
As for recruiting, central Ohio showed “a big uptick for us,” Tressel said.
“We’ll probably do two or three different evening events there,” he said, noting it’s just 21/2 to 3 hours away, and there is a large pool of good students.
This year, the university widened its footprint for recruiting students to counties and schools beyond the Mahoning and Shenango valleys and other communities from which YSU has traditionally recruited.
That resulted in students enrolling from 480 high schools and 54 counties this fall, compared with 320 high schools and 37 counties the previous year.
“In new student enrollment, we saw an uptick that was needed not just in numbers, but in the makeup of the class,” Tressel said.
This year’s incoming freshmen class is YSU’s highest in ACT score and high school grade-point average.
It’s a trajectory Tressel wants to continue.
Freshman to sophomore retention also increased from 67 percent in 2014 to 73.2 percent in 2015.
Those increases must be maintained if Tressel is to achieve another goal: employee raises in the next round of contracts.
“I don’t think we can go another contract without compensation increases,” he said.
Though university employees love their jobs they also work hard, Tressel said.
He’d also like to be able to raise the pay for adjunct faculty, he said. That group, comprised of some professionals in various fields and some people who teach at several institutions with hopes of being hired full time, haven’t seen a raise in more than 20 years.
“They play a tremendous role on our campus,” Tressel said. “They have great impact on our students.”
YSU is urging students to graduate in four years. The university’s six-year graduation rate is about 33 percent.
“It’s what’s best for the student,” which means it’s ultimately what’s best for YSU, he said.