Don’t sell Youngstown State short

The world of higher education is full of uncertainty. In nearly three years as the president of YSU, there have been many moments when it was difficult to ascertain the past or the future of a particular challenge. But if there is one certainty, it’s this: We run a highly efficient operation at Youngstown State University at a price point that is among the most affordable across the entire country.

That is not to say that there are not pockets on campus that could be more efficient or that there is not more we can do to trim costs even more. We can and will. It is to say, however, that we are not sitting by idly. We have worked hard to implement several initiatives to keep our costs low and our tuition the most affordable in the state. Consider this:

We reduced employee compensation costs by $5.2 million between fiscal year 2014 and 2016, according to YSU’s financial report as audited by the independent accounting firm Crowe Horwath and certified by the auditor of the state of Ohio.

YSU staff employees have not received pay raises for several years, and pay increases for faculty have been very modest: 0 percent, 1 percent and 2 percent for the current contract period.

With the exception of our MBA program fee, YSU has not raised tuition and fees in two years, including the dozens of ancillary fees not capped by state law. Such self-restraint underscores our commitment to student affordability.

The state mandated that universities lower student costs by 5 percent in 2015-16; YSU exceeded the mandate by reducing costs by more than 9 percent.

YSU was favorably mentioned multiple times for our cost-saving initiatives in the 2016 Efficiency Advisory Committee Report from the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The report cited the reorganization of our top administrative staff that reduced personnel costs by $1 million and commended YSU’s efforts to collaborate with other universities on operational matters.

YSU also has been working diligently to bring down textbook costs, a growing priority for the governor. Outsourcing our bookstore to Barnes & Noble and negotiating a price-match guarantee program with B&N ensure that YSU students will always enjoy optimal prices in the textbook marketplace. B&N also has greatly expanded the availability of digital textbooks, creating additional cost-savings. And, we have worked closely with Student Government to make available textbook resources – for free – through Maag Library.

The bottom line is this: YSU provides a top-notch higher education in an array of disciplines taught by accomplished faculty and supported by dedicated staff at a tuition that is 25 percent lower than the national average and 9 percent lower than the statewide average.

We are proud of the steps we have taken to institute better efficiencies across campus, and we will remain diligent in ensuring that we continue spending every dollar wisely as we work for the success of our students.

James P. Tressel is president of Youngstown State University.