YSU Trustees OK Budget, Small Tuition Increase

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown State University Board of Trustees approved Thursday a budget of $183.96 million for the fiscal year 2020 and a tuition increase for students who enrolled before the 2018-2019 school year. 

The budget increase, the trustees noted, assumes no growth in enrollment, a 0.5% increase in state funding and spending increases for fringe benefits, salaries and scholarships.

For returning students who entered the university prior to the fall 2018 semester, full-time undergraduate tuition for in-state students will increase by $81, or 2%, to $4,124.52 per semester. Under the Penguin Tuition Promise, this rate will not change for at least four years for students who entered YSU during or after the fall 2018 semester.

Mike Sherman, YSU’s vice president for effectiveness and board professional, said the increase emphasizes that the university re-commits itself to having procedures based on best practices in place. 

“[They are] developed through consultation and are well-documented and understood across the university to be squarely focused on academic excellence,” he said in a statement. 

Even with the adjustments, YSU’s tuition is the lowest among public comprehensive universities in Ohio, ahead of only Central State University and Shawnee State University out of the state’s 14 public universities.

Sherman said YSU’s value can be enhanced further by refining institutional procedures that emphasize the university’s intentions for academic excellence as a student-centric campus. 

The trustees also approved a resolution to “enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of all aspects of university operations aimed at further improving the quality of academic programs and student experience.”

The resolution establishes a framework for YSU’s new strategic planning process, including calling for documented procedures and annual reviews.

“We are committed to a purposeful process to develop a plan that allows us to ‘Take Charge of Our Future’ and to stimulate and enable academic excellence and student success,” Sherman said.

The draft strategic plan will be considered further at the board’s retreat to be scheduled for October, with board approval expected sometime in June 2020, including a budget that supports implementing the plan.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.