YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University has taken a major step toward helping displaced students from Eastern Gateway Community College.

The university’s Academic Senate has approved the addition of 32 associate degree and certificate programs that will allow EGCC students to complete their programs at YSU, Interim Provost Jennifer Pintar said in a news release issued Thursday.

“I am incredibly proud of our faculty, chairpersons and academic senators for the work and dedication put toward expanding opportunities at YSU for EGCC students,” Pintar said. “The collaborative efforts across campus have been instrumental in making this transition process smoother for our incoming students.”

YSU sent EGCC students a letter via email in February, announcing the university’s plan to allow them to transition “seamlessly” to YSU.

The Academic Senate recently reviewed policies and procedures and voted unanimously to amend existing policies to remove barriers for EGCC students transferring to YSU.

The news release stated the newly approved programs now must be approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission.

YSU spokeswoman Becky Rose said it is unclear exactly how long that process will take.

“This is a very fluid situation, and things are changing daily,” she said. “This was the first step, to go through the Academic Senate so we can work through those other agencies to get approval to put these courses into our course catalog and make them available to students.”

Even with that approval process pending, Pintar said EGCC students can begin transferring their credits by completing the transfer application. The press release said students should indicate “undecided” on the application until the programs are in the final stages of approval.

The application for admission is available at explore.ysu.edu/egcc.

YSU has waived the application fee for EGCC students and worked with EGCC to simplify the credit transfer process, and will allow students to have their transcripts sent to YSU for free.

Students should add YSU’s school code (003145) to their FASFA application to ensure efficient processing of financial aid.

The press release said YSU already offers 10 programs that directly correspond to EGCC programs, and do not require approval. These include: Associate of Arts, Business Administration Associate of Arts, Civil and Construction Engineering Technology, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Associate PreK, Electrical Engineering Technology, Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology and Nursing (ADN).

Students also can enroll in classes at Stark State College, Belmont College, Washington State College of Ohio, Cuyahoga Community College, and Hocking College.

TROUBLES AT EGCC

EGCC announced in February that it was suspending enrollment beyond this semester. The community college, which has campuses in Steubenville and downtown Youngstown, has been under legal scrutiny by the Ohio and United States departments of education for several years, and in early January its administrative offices were raided by the Special Investigations Unit within the Ohio Auditor’s Office.

In November 2021, EGCC was placed on probation for up to two years by the Higher Learning Commission, a private Chicago-based organization that accredits about 1,000 colleges and universities across the U.S.

The agency found that EGCC failed to meet at least five criteria for accreditation and that the commission had concerns about six others.

As of last week, the Ohio Auditor’s office still has not said exactly what its search warrant covered, but EGCC employees’ bank records have been subpoenaed dating back to 2015, when Jimmie Bruce took over as president. Bruce resigned in January 2020 and was indicted in August on felony theft charges and allegations he had unlawfully benefited from a public contract. Those charges were dismissed Jan. 3 — one day before the campus was raided — but the charges can be refiled.

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Linda Harris contributed to this report.