YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University trustees this week explored approaches to help stabilize overall declining enrollment while dealing with a budget bound to become much tighter later this year. As a result, more cuts are likely, administrators said.

Wednesday and Thursday were the first set of quarterly board meetings under interim university President Helen K. Lafferty.

A team of individuals made a presentation on the university’s continuing efforts to optimize enrollment and increase the size of the “enrollment funnel,” the number of individuals who move from prospects to enrolled students. Among those initiatives:

• Online enrollment increased dramatically from 400 students in fall 2020 to 1,171 in fall 2022 after YSU engaged with academic partnerships to recruit online students;

• Graduate student enrollment has grown significantly as well, from 1,149 in fall 2019 to 2,152 in fall 2022;

• International student enrollment is up twofold, from 340 in fall 2021 to 668 this spring semester;

• Various initiatives of the Sokolov Honors College, including increased efforts to build closer relationships with high school students;

• Efforts have begun to get students who have been out of school for more than a year to readmit to the university;

• The number of students living in university residence halls always has dropped by about 50 students between fall and spring semesters. This year, the number actually increased by nearly 50 this spring semester.

Trustee Chairman John Jakubek said the future is bright and in good hands with “the generation of students we are producing here at YSU.”

He also said, however, that YSU and higher education are facing many challenges, particularly with funding and enrollment. Changes, some that may impact people, will need to be made, he said.

MONEY

Neal McNally, vice president for Finance and Business Operations, provided a quarterly update on the fiscal 2023 operating budget, saying that the budget plan is tracking on or better than projected in most categories of revenues and expenses, and in total.

He cautioned, however, that “unlike last year, when we ended FY 2022 with a carry-forward balance of $6.5 million, this year’s budget will be much closer to break-even, which of course is more in line with the expected financial performance of most public entities, and especially state universities.”

He added: “So this is a mixed report because on one hand it signals good news, which is that our budget plan for the current fiscal year is on track. But this report also tells us that a major budget strategy that we have in place now — that is, using prior year carryforward funds to balance this year’s budget–that option won’t be available to us next fiscal year.”

McNally also reported on budget planning for fiscal year 2024. Noting that “student enrollment is the single most important variable when planning a university budget,” McNally presented a chart that shows YSU’s enrollment levels are projected to continue declining over the next several years. As a result, he said, the budget planning “outlook over the next several years” will be a “difficult and sometimes painful exercise” for YSU and similar universities across Ohio and the nation.

“We’re going to need to be more aggressive at trimming expenses because revenues will not be enough to support current levels of operations,” he said.

The YSU Foundation received $6.4 million in gifts and pledges in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2023, down from $12.3 million in the same period in 2022, reported Heather Chunn, vice president, and Paul McFadden, president. McFadden also reported, however, that the foundation received $7.5 million in just the last two months, driven by the campaign for the new Zoldan Family Student Center Campaign.

“It has really generated a lot of excitement,” he said.

Chunn also reported that the foundation has hired four staff members since November, with one more coming on board later this month. The foundation had four staff members in 2014 but now has 20.

ATHLETE GRADES

Rebecca Fink, senior associate athletics director, reported on educational outcomes of student athletes. The report showed a 62 percent graduation rate for YSU athletes in 2022, compared with 43 percent for the general YSU student population.

By comparison, overall student athlete graduation rate in the Horizon League is 69 percent and in the Missouri Valley Football Conference is 68 percent. In addition, Jaysen Spencer, director of Athletic Academic Services, reported that YSU student athletes earned a 3.42 average GPA in fall 2022, including 134 students with 4.0 GPAs and 81 percent with GPAs above 3.0.

Chet Cooper, YSU faculty athletic representative, presented a report breaking down the academic majors of student athletes. The report shows that the Williamson College of Business Administration enrolls the largest number of student athletes with 159, followed by the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services with 118.

INSURANCE CLAIMS

Julie Gentile, director of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, updated the board on enterprise risk management, including two insurance claims: $325,000 in damage to six buildings on campus from winter storms Dec. 24 to Dec. 26, and a fire at Ward Beecher Planetarium with losses estimated at $400,000 minimum in January. Estimated time of repair is six to eight months.

The board nominated Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata as a global / national member of the YSU Board of Trustees. Linsalata is a native of Youngstown, a two-time YSU graduate, a longtime member and former chair of the YSU Foundation, chair of the Foundation’s “We See Tomorrow” campaign, recipient of YSU’s Friend of the University Award, and recipient of the Williamson College of Business Administration’s Outstanding Alumni Service Award.