YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University saw slight growth in enrollment this semester, but President Bill Johnson acknowledges that challenges lie ahead.
“Our enrollment strategy can’t simply be about becoming bigger,” he said Tuesday morning in his State of the University address. “It must also be about becoming more responsive, more accessible, more adaptable.
The world is connected digitally, the economy is global and technology is advancing at its fastest pace ever, Johnson said in the Williamson Hall auditorium.
“To achieve our mission and vision here at YSU, to meet and overcome these challenges, it’s important that we’re flexible, agile and adaptable in the academic programs we offer and in the careers our graduates ultimately pursue after they graduate,” he explained.
That involves communicating who YSU is, what it does and how those efforts help graduates progress in their careers.
Tuesday’s address to faculty, staff, administrators and trustees marked Johnson’s third since becoming YSU president in January 2024.
This fall, the university saw an increase by headcount of three students compared with fall 2025. This fall’s headcount is 12,423 students, compared with 12,420 last year and 12,164 in fall 2024.
“That hasn’t happened here in almost two decades, and it’s something that we should all be very proud of,” the YSU president said, acknowledging that work remains.
He also pointed to the university earning the Carnegie Foundation’s elective classification for community engagement and its identification by the Chronicle of Higher Education as No. 35 among all the colleges and universities in the nation for highest percentage of revenue from private gifts.
“That’s significant because it’s a testimony to how strongly people feel about what YSU has meant to our communities and to them personally,” Johnson said. “And speaking of private gifts and philanthropy, YSU continues to set records.”
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, YSU broke the university’s previous philanthropic record by over $6 million, and in 2025-26, a similar pace continued, he said.
Another highlight was the opening this fall of YSU Steubenville. The first semester saw 95 students enrolled at the campus, the former home of the now-closed Eastern Gateway Community College.
And when state officials and agencies and businesses look for educational partners in the region, they often turn to YSU, Johnson said.
As an example, he listed Gov. Mike DeWine picking YSU to partner with America Makes and YBI to form the Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace & Defense.
But competition for students is growing among colleges and universities as U.S. birth rates are lower than in previous decades and the college-age population is smaller. YSU can’t change that, Johnson said, but it can cast a wider net to find students and work to meet them where they are. One way to do that is more online offerings that appeal to those who work full time, he said.
The university’s affordability, combined with the quality of education it provides, helps it attract students as well, Johnson said.
“YSU has the third lowest tuition among all of the 14 public universities in our state, the lowest tuition in our region, and our out-of-state tuition is within roughly $100 or so of our in-state tuition,” he said.
Because of the Penguin Promise, when a student enrolls, it locks in the tuition price for four years.
“That’s why so many students from Pennsylvania and West Virginia choose YSU,” Johnson said. “And the number of students choosing YSU from all across the country continues to grow.”
But international enrollment is down 30% as many international students who wanted to enroll at YSU couldn’t get their visas approved, he said.
He’s hopeful that’s a delay, not a stoppage, and that at least some of those students will be able to enroll in the spring semester.
YSU officials let Mahoning Valley elected officials know how those policies are affecting the workforce, Johnson added.
He credited faculty, staff, administrators, trustees and students for YSU’s successes over the past year.
“I believe you understand that the people here at Youngstown State don’t do what they do to get a pat on the back,” Johnson said. “They do it to make a positive difference, to influence the outcome. I see you all doing that every day.”
Pictured at top: Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson.