YOUNGSTOWN – The forecast for Youngstown State University’s $153.8 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2024 paints a grim picture of continued decreasing enrollment and revenues.

The university, however, is moving forward in efforts to attract and retain students while stabilizing its finances.

“The (FY-24) budget is based on an enrollment decline of 4 percent and a revenue decline by about $3 million,” Neal P. McNally, vice president of finance and business operations, said after Thursday’s quarterly board of trustees meeting.

McNally noted that student enrollment is the biggest consideration when making budget predictions. He added that actual enrollment figures will be looked at beginning in September, though projections regarding YSU’s budget prediction are malleable because of uncertainty about the state’s operating budget.

As such, uncertainty surrounds whether the university will implement further tuition increases, he explained.

Also built into the FY 2024 budget is a $15 million structural deficit that will have to be managed via spending reductions, savings from staff and faculty vacancies and other means as guided by YSU’s strategic plan, McNally said. He said most universities across the state are dealing with the same or similar financial challenges based largely on changing demographics that include fewer available students.

The prediction for YSU, though, is subject to change, depending on how actual enrollment plays out beginning at the 2023-24 school year.

“Potential revenue enhancements could also play a role in helping to close this gap, especially if actual enrollment this fall comes in higher than the negative 4 percent forecasted,” McNeil said.

STATE SHARE

A positive sign in the budget, however, is related to State Share of Instruction funding. The Ohio Department of Higher Education is projecting YSU’s state funding to increase about 4.5 percent to $48.5 million for FY 2024, which is almost five times higher than the average for state universities, McNeil noted.

This increase “means we outperformed most other universities, notably because we have made significant improvements with regard to student success outcomes, which are the main drivers of state funding,” he continued.

The university SSI funding model is based on course and degree completions, which make up about 80 percent of distributions. The third portion of distributions is based on applicable set-aside components.

Depending on the state budget situation, the university’s budget projections may be amended next fall, McNally said, adding that challenges remain.

“We have shrinking pains, unfortunately,” he said.

PRESIDENT SEARCH

Also during Thursday’s session, trustees adopted a resolution regarding the search for the next president, which includes selecting a search firm, establishing a timeline and forming a transition committee.

YSU officials selected WittKieffer, a Chicago-based national search firm, to lead the process of finding the next president “to begin in the position no later than fall 2024, assuring that she / he will be involved in the development of the FY-25 budget,” according to the resolution.

The move also calls for Trustees Charles T. George, Anita A. Hackstedde, Laura Lyden and Joseph J. Kerola to serve as the Presidential Search Guidance Committee. Trustee Molly S. Seals was named as an alternate.

Serving as interim president is Helen K. Lafferty, who began after President Jim Tressel retired in February.

HERITAGE

AWARD

Also at the session, Joseph Mosca and the late Syretha F. Cooper received the 2023 Heritage Award, YSU’s highest honor.

Mosca, a licensed independent social worker, served at the university from 1989 to 2019 in a variety of capacities, including as associate professor, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs and dean of the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services. He also sat on the Mahoning County Mental Health Board as well as the boards of Meridian Services, Fish Samaritan House and the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund.

In his remarks after receiving the award, Mosca expressed gratitude for having worked with “salt-of-the-earth students,” as well as for how his 20 years at YSU “have added to my life significantly.”

From 1969 to 1996, Cooper served in the department of social work as assistant professor, professor and chairwoman, making her the first black woman to chair the department.

The Dr. Syretha F. Cooper Memorial Scholarship in Social Work was founded in memory of Cooper, who died in 2003 at age 74.

Accepting the Heritage Award on behalf of Cooper was her son, Marvin L. Cooper of Blacklick, Ohio.

As a result of having received the awards, Mosca’s and Cooper’s names have been engraved on YSU’s Heritage Wall, Rebecca Rose, the university’s director of marketing and communications, said.

The Heritage Award was established in 1981 to honor former YSU faculty members as well as professional and administrative staff who have made major contributions during their years of service to the university, Rose noted.