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YOUNGSTOWN -- Higher education is facing a slew of unknowns and challenges, but through it all, Youngstown State University continues to rely heavily on a collaborative spirit to rise to whatever challenges may come its way, an official says.
"It shows how deep trust and accountability run -- happy faculty leads to happy students," Jennifer Adams, YSU's provost and vice president for academic affairs, said.
That was among the primary themes on which Adams spoke while delivering the university's annual State of Academic Affairs presentation Thursday morning in the Williamson College of Business Administration's auditorium.
Throughout her nearly one-hour talk themed "Challenge accepted," Adams continually stressed the importance of faculty members' roles in fulfilling academic and students' needs.
"Be the reason a student comes to YSU, stays at YSU and graduates from YSU," the provost said.
She also praised their role in being instrumental forces in producing what many see as a positive collective bargaining agreement between YSU's Ohio Education Association and Association of Classified Employees unions, approved Aug. 7, saying that 97% of faculty viewed it favorably.
Part of the agreement included 3% salary raises for all three years regarding the OEA union, as well as a 3% increase in the first year for ACE union members, a 2.75% increase in the second year and a 3% raise in the third.
"There were a lot of challenges we had to overcome in these negotiations," Adams told a nearly full auditorium.
YSU STEUBENVILLE OPENS
Calling Jefferson County "a region in need," she also noted that 91 students have enrolled at the university's Steubenville campus across its 12 programs: mechanical engineering technology, teacher education, individualized studies, early childhood and pre-kindergarten education, medical assistant, business administration, associate of arts, social work, information technology, criminal justice, pre-radiologic technology and pre-nursing.
That figure may appear to be small, but the process began rather late -- specifically, in March, Adams pointed out.
A major hurdle YSU and many other institutions of higher learning continue to grapple with is maintaining students. Of the full- and part-time students between fall 2024 and fall 2025, 1,560 of them graduated, but 1,245 never returned, she noted, adding that 777 of them were in good academic standing. Of those 777 students, 211 of them enrolled elsewhere, she continued.
Consequently, YSU is working to develop greater innovative ways to not only attract more students against a declining pool locally and nationally, but to keep them on campus throughout their educational endeavors, Adams said.
Despite that trend, during the past 10 years, YSU has seen a significant and consistent increase in online enrollment growth. In fall 2016, only 280 students signed on in that manner, compared to 2,654 in fall 2025, the most recent year for which figures were available.That represents an 848% increase over the last decade, she added.
This year, YSU carved an enrollment path connecting students' interest with having them obtain class schedules. The requirement entailed "coordinated, high-volume work across the university," Adams said, adding that 15,190 applications were processed, 11,811 students were admitted, 10,713 financial aid packages were created that totaled more than $165 million and more than 1 million recruitment emails were sent.
"They need our support," she said, adding, "When the tide rises, the ship rises."
Part of the enrollment challenge is a 17% decrease in new international students nationally. The university's three-pronged response to building a stronger global presence is to diversify regarding the countries, partners and recruitment channels, align academic strengths with international demand, support students through the visa process to graduation and reach additional countries, she noted.
Another hot-button topic is the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom. The university's approach is to collect then analyze data on the present scope of AI use, glean further answers to questions related to its use, make suggestions on faculty development pertaining to AI and explore pedagogical and curricular questions surrounding it, as well as the need for related resources, Adams explained.
Some faculty members are well-versed in the technology's uses and others are less familiar with it, so that presents an opportunity to provide those necessary resources, she added.
Adams also outlined the university's overall strategic impact, saying its purpose is to expand across and reach new markets, respond to workforce needs, support student success and completion of programs, diversify and strengthen enrollment and extend YSU's reach farther beyond campus.
Also, YSU's academic master plan saw several new policies added and changes made per the Office of Academic Affairs and key performance indicators, Adams said.
Toward the end of her presentation, the provost stressed what she feels is the importance of faculty members being aware that students care about them and value the role they play in the students' academic lives.
"We want you on campus," she said, adding that in addition to preparing students for meaningful work and economic stability, college programs need to help them develop greater critical-thinking skills, communication and perspective, as well as the ability and desire to continue learning throughout their lives.
In addition, Adams held a moment of silence for David S. Morgan, a 25-year YSU music professor who died Saturday at his Poland home. Morgan was 68.