Defend Youngstown!

By: Lindsey Ramdin

No, not you Kelly Pavlik. It will take more than two iron fists to defend Youngstown State University against the negative reputation it has in the community. “You Screwed Up” is something many students hear when they say they attend YSU. Unfortunately, this alternative acronym for YSU may have taken on a literal sense, as recent graduation rates are the lowest in the state.

There is an assumption that YSU is a college that students go to when they cannot “make it” anywhere else. Or that it is, as columnist Bertram de Souza of the Vindicator said during a discussion with YSU students, “a glorified community college”. As a student (and proud Penguin), I can’t help but wonder what de Souza’s reasons for a comment like that could be, or why others might agree with him.

If de Souza is right, that YSU is no more than a “glorified community college,” what does it say about the soaring number of new applicants YSU has seen in the last few years? In the last eight years YSU has had higher enrollment than any other state institution, thanks in part to the YSU Centennial Campus Plan that promises to “build enrollment and manage it effectively”. Policy makers hoped to meet a total-enrollment goal of 14,000 students in 2008; unfortunately, there were only 13,712 incoming students, a little shy of the initial goal, but still a huge leap from where enrollment numbers were ten years ago.

These rates show that students want to come to YSU. While it may not be as nationally recognized as other state schools like Ohio State, it is still an accredited university that deserves the same reverence as other benchmark colleges in the area.

Low graduation rates may account for some of the negative feelings towards YSU, but it is important to note that of the student body, one-third is made up of non-traditional students over the age of 24. Non-traditional students usually have more than just school on their plate. Unlike most students, non-traditional students must usually work and support their families while they attend school--making it nearly impossible to complete a degree within four years. As for the other two-thirds of the student population, it is hard to determine what might be causing their graduation delay, but if you look at the graduation rates of students who were able to complete a degree within 6 years of beginning, the rates of graduation increase by nearly 30 percent.

It is hard to tell if YSU’s high enrollment numbers are due to the University’s efforts for improvement, or because of the recession. Some blame the high enrollment rates on the recession, claiming that in a time of economic need schools like YSU thrive, “at times when unemployment increases, our enrollment increases,” said Tom Maraffa, senior assistant to the president, in a Vindicator interview. Of course low tuition rates will draw students in. Students may choose to attend a community college over a state institution just based on financial reasons alone.

It is still unfair, though, to assume that just because YSU has low tuition rates that it can be likened to community colleges, which usually cost significantly less than state universities. YSU offers a lot of financial aid and most YSU applicants qualify for at least one type—lessening the burden of high tuition prices and offering a four-year degree like other, more expensive schools in Ohio.

Regardless of where students are coming from or why, they are coming, and this influx of students can help YSU progress in many ways. YSU policy makers need to place more focus on student assessment and improving graduation rates. Student retention rates and graduation numbers are vital to a school’s success and reputation. Members of the community need to embrace YSU as an asset to our city instead of viewing it as a last-resort option. Affordable tuition, growing enrollment rates, and the constant effort to keep building YSU’s success should be enough to draw in more students and hopefully silence those who have such negative things to say about this campus.

Lindsey Ramdin is a student in the Editorial and Opinion Writing class at YSU.