YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University officials will be taking a hard look at what works, and what might not, going into the future.

Under scrutiny will be programs with too few students to make them financially sustainable, and classes with too few students.

University administration said Monday that it’s eager to work with faculty and academic leadership to achieve greater sustainability and vibrancy. But enrollment has dropped about 11 percent, or 1,398 students, over the last three years.

This is largely because of a shrinking pool of high school graduates throughout the Mahoning Valley, Trustee John Jakubek noted during a special YSU Board of Trustees meeting Monday afternoon in Kilcawley Center to address the problem.

Compounding the situation is that larger numbers of students have graduated from YSU in recent years, officials have said.

Enrollment this fall semester is 11,298 students, an all-time low since records were kept. Such demographics are expected to continue, especially with fewer students expected to graduate from area and regional high schools over the next five to 10 years, said Jakubek, board chairman.

The downward trend also has negatively and greatly impacted the university’s revenues, though YSU’s budget is balanced largely because of a one-time infusion of more than $10 million in federal COVID-19 relief money.

The grim larger picture could mean discontinuing certain programs — especially those with too few students to make them financially sustainable and combining others, though neither Jakubek nor Brien Smith, provost and vice president of academic affairs, was specific regarding which ones.

Some classes might be eliminated, offered every other semester or combined with like ones. The university also will take a closer look at which programs could benefit its academic future. the provost noted.

Such moves, however, would first have to be worked out with the Office of Academic Affairs and the YSU- Ohio Education Association union, Jakubek explained.

Also, the administration plans to identify those programs best aligned with the university’s strategic plan.

No mention of layoffs was made during the meeting.

REVENUE DROP

In a letter earlier this month to the campus community, Smith and Neal McNally, vice president for finance and operations, said that YSU’s operating budget for fiscal 2022 was based partly on the assumption that enrollment would drop again this year.

Fees and tuition for this fall semester are $2.6 million less than last fall; Smith and McNally also estimated that such revenue will decrease $5.6 million over the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Also during the session, Smith said that officials will have to look more closely at “curriculum inefficiencies,” that include classes with fewer than 15 students, which he called “the break-even point, on average.”

The provost added that he hopes the process of examining such inefficiencies across the campus will be figured out before the fall 2022 semester.

Trustees set a Nov. 15 deadline to announce the first phase of a plan to achieve that goal, he continued, adding that any cuts or consolidations would take on “a phased approach.”

“We have to tighten our belt and become more efficient,” YSU President Jim Tressel said, adding that it’s a complicated process to figure out which programs to eliminate to offset revenue losses, and that further discussions will be needed.

In addition, Smith noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on the university’s enrollment. He also said he is uncertain but hopeful that situation will improve when the health crisis is over.

Despite the gloomy financial and enrollment reality and forecast, however, the university may open new online programs and marketing strategies to attract new students and increase revenue, Smith said.

Before the special meeting, trustees met Monday morning to discuss YSU’s sustainability and academic vibrancy over the next 10 to 20 years. Higher-education experts were brought in who are knowledgeable about student enrollment trends and strengthening academic portfolios.

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