YSU administrators justify academic cuts are necessary for sustainability

[Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the proper name for Youngstown State University's College of Creative Arts and Communications.]

Wondering what's the cause of so much acrimony at Youngstown State University in recent weeks?

It began with the Oct. 13 announcement of record-low enrollment. For the Fall 2021 semester, YSU reported an enrollment of 11,298. Enrollment declined by 1,398 students, or about 11%.

YSU Vice President for Finance and Business Operations Neal McNally said the current financial outlook for the university is not sustainable, and the university is recording less revenue from tuition and fees, which are the largest source of income for the university.

A decrease in student enrollment also means less state funding would be allocated toward academics.

"What might be less obvious, though, is the eventual impact our enrollment trend may have on our state funding levels, which is the university's second-largest revenue stream," he said.

The university estimates a $5.6 million structural deficit, as Mahoning Matters reported. The university could face a revenue shortfall of at least $10 million, and possibly more, McNally said.

That led to Monday's YSU Board of Trustees meeting.

McNally told YSU trustees that in order to ensure YSU's long-term sustainability, the university needs to scale back programs that aren't growing.

"Rather, it's about doing more in growth areas and doing a lot less in non-growth areas," McNally said. "Disinvest to enable investment, that really has to be part of our strategy moving forward."

The university trustees voted Monday to begin cutting faculty and academic programs. As a result, several academic programs and Youngstown State University faculty are now on the chopping block. Ohio Education Association at YSU met privately with YSU administration Thursday to discuss cuts to several academic programs beginning fall 2022.

YSU-OEA union members were provided a list of 19 academic programs proposed to be cut from university departments.

One such proposed cut is the Northeast Ohio Master's of Fine Arts program, a consortial program with the University of Akron, Cleveland State University and Kent State University.

Cassandra Lawton, a second-year NEOMFA student at YSU and a teaching assistant, says students travel from out of state for this unique program, and a proposed cut could affect academics in Northeast Ohio. This consortial program is the only one of its kind in the U.S.

"The NEOMFA program is connected to Cleveland, Akron and Kent, and it changes their perspectives as well because now, we've just impacted the whole area. This program brings so many resources into Youngstown because the arts is a $41.1 billion industry in Ohio," she said, citing a 2018 Bowling Green University study.

Lawton said she finds it demotivating to continue pursuing her degree at YSU after hearing the program will be cut.

"They are not going to take any new students, and they will graduate the ones who are already in," Lawton said. "I will graduate, but what is the purpose of having a degree that no longer exists?"

In the fall 2020 semester, the College of Creative Arts and Communications had 831 students enrolled in the department, according to YSU's Office of Institutional Research and Analytics reports obtained by Mahoning Matters. As of this fall 2021 semester, only 470 students are actively enrolled in the department.

This semester, an average of 2,097 students are enrolled in other departments at YSU, such as Business Administration, Health & Human Services, Liberal Arts and Social Science Education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Shannon Tirone, associate vice president of university relations at YSU, told Mahoning Matters YSU faculty will be taking a closer look at enrollment in each academic program to make sure the university is still in alignment with the "academic portfolio."

"[We are] taking a look at each one of the areas of education, and finding out whether we have students who are still enrolled, and what academic support is related to those programs," she said.

Although YSU faces financial hardship with the decrease in student enrollment, Tirone said the university is one of many public higher education universities in Ohio having to reevaluate "the balance of financial dollars."

On Friday, in response to the proposed cuts of academic programs that, as Lawton said, bring value and revenue to the community, YSU-OEA called on YSU trustees to audit all non-academic divisions.

The faculty union is also questioning why cuts are not being proposed to other divisions, including athletics and administration.

In a statement released by OEA spokesperson Mark Vopat, the union said the YSU Athletics Department anticipates a $885,000 budget increase in the midst of a structural deficit. YSU's athletic department budget for the 2022-23 school year is $13,835,644, out of a total general fund allocation of about $153 million.

Additionally, each YSU student pays about $1,000 for athletics annually, which is about 10 percent of their tuition, Vopat said.

YSU trustees also approved some administrative raises up to 10 percent, as well as the creation of additional administrative positions, according to the union.

"It's often said that budgets reveal values, and it's both troubling and telling that this administration cuts the academic division to remedy a deficit of its own making," Vopat said. "These cuts will increase student-to-faculty ratios, hurt the overall quality of a YSU education and ultimately make the university less attractive to future students."

In the academic division, YSU has lost 42 faculty members from resignation and retirements since fall 2020, the union said.

According to the union, 25 of the 42 faculty members took the separation incentive offered by YSU administration. This incentive is a $2 million dollar cut on faculty already, union leaders said.

"Faculty, who are 25 percent of the total budget, are being asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of the budget deficit caused partly by mismanagement of funds and increased spending on non-academic units," Vopat said.

A "Rally to Save the NEOMFA at YSU" will be at noon Tuesday outside Todd Hall where Lawton and other program students will present a petition to YSU Provost Brien Smith, YSU President Jim Tressel and trustee members, to demand a meeting on the potential cut of the program.

This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "YSU administrators justify academic cuts are necessary for sustainability."