Although Youngstown State University lost enrollment, the number of students attending other area institutions is on the upswing for the 2011 fall semester, according to the latest enrollment numbers.
The good news for YSU is that enrollment has increased 23 percent since 2000.
The bad news is that the latest fall enrollment figures, which reflect a 4.3 percent drop over last year's fall enrollment, hurt the university's budget.
YSU president Cynthia Anderson said the enrollment drop increases the seriousness of the university's financial circumstances.
"We have said for some time now that the budgetary challenges facing YSU are great," Anderson said. "This unexpected drop in enrollment and the resulting loss in revenue makes the situation worse.
We are now facing serious financial circumstances that will require difficult decisions and sacrifices, even beyond what we have been discussing to this point."
According to official preliminary numbers released on Tuesday, YSU enrollment is down 654 students this fall semester.
The numbers at area post-secondary schools includes:
Kent State University at Trumbull reported its enrollment growth continued based on its 15-day fall semester figures, also released Tuesday.
For KSU at Trumbull, that reflects a 2 percent increase over the fall 2010 tally, pushing the campus to its seventh straight semester of increased enrollment with 3,207 students.
The campus bettered its all-time enrollment high, established a year ago at 3,144, and extended an upward trend that boasts nearly a 55 percent increase from fall 2008 to fall 2011.
Robert Sines, dean at KSU at Trumbull, attributed the number of quality programs, including evening and online class options, affordable tuition and the central location of the campus as factors in its growth.
"We are very pleased with the (enrollment) number,'' Sines said. ''I believe this speaks volumes to our place in the field of higher education in this area and to the trust that students have in our ability to prepare them for their futures.''
Enrollment at Eastern Gateway Community College, which has sites in Warren and Youngstown, has boomed - pushing its overall fall 2011 headcount past the 2,400 mark for the first time in the college's history.
The 10 percent growth from last fall sets the student population at 2,435, with 56 percent of the students from Jefferson County, the site of the college's main campus, 18 percent from Mahoning County, 6 percent from Trumbull County and 5 percent from Columbiana County, Eastern Gateway officials reported recently.
The new student count grew by 17 percent and the college's enrollment in online classes continues to grow, with nearly 35 percent of all students taking at least one online class, officials said.
Laura Meeks, EGCC president, said the number of classes being held at local career centers and the college's Warren Center have contributed to the upswing.
"The growth of these classes was slow at the start, but the schedule and locations are catching on with the residents," Meeks said. "This is great news for the college and our partners."
Meanwhile, YSU's headcount enrollment - the actual number of individual students enrolled - is 14,540 this semester, down from 15,194 last fall semester. In addition, full-time equivalent enrollment - a measure that is used in budgeting at both the university and state levels - is down 3.5 percent.
Since YSU budgeted for a 1 percent increase in full-time enrollment this year the drop in students means a loss of an estimated $4.5 million in what was budgeted for the university's general fund. That is on top of a projected $1.7 million deficit already in the general fund budget, which is $159 million this fiscal year.
Gene Grilli, vice president for finance and administration, said it's important to understand the severity of the situation and the significant budgetary actions that will be needed to address it.
"While we have had much success with enrollment over the past decade, we are very disappointed with these numbers," said Jack Fahey, vice president for student affairs. "We are in the process of examining the reasons for this decline."
Recently, Fahey reported the last time the university experienced a decline was in 2005, when there was a contract dispute between the administration and faculty, resulting in a strike by members of the YSU-Ohio Education Association faculty union.
In recent weeks, the university has been at a standstill with YSU-OEA, which represents about 405 university faculty members. The union's faculty have been working without a contract close to a month, with YSU-OEA voting to reject what university administrators said was their best and final offer for a new contract. The union announced plans to strike but then called it off.
Representatives for both sides have said health care premiums remain unsettled.
Classes started as scheduled Aug. 29, when YSU officials reported enrollment was down 2.5 percent, or 372 students, from the first day of classes in fall 2010. At that time, Fahey said the university planned to work hard to increase those numbers.