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YSU Leads Ohio in Enrollment Growth Since 2000
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The smiles are wide at Youngstown State University today after some number crunching determined that YSU leads the state in enrollment growth over the last four years.The number of students on campus has jumped 11.1% from fall 2000 to fall 2004, the largest increase among the main campuses of the state's 11 major public universities, according to an analysis by YSU of enrollment figures released by the Ohio Board of Regents.Kent State University's 10.7% growth rate is the second highest over the four years, YSU officials said, followed by Wright State University (10.3%), Ohio State University (6.3%), Bowling Green (4.9%), Ohio University (3.3%), University of Akron (1%), University of Cincinnati (0.6%) and Miami University (0.5%).Cleveland State University (-1.2%) and the University of Toledo (0.1%) are the only universities with a net loss of students over the four years, according to board of regents' figures."YSU has evolved into a statewide leader in several areas, so it's only appropriate that we also now top the list in terms of enrollment growth," asserted David C. Sweet, president of Youngstown State University."We have worked hard to develop relevant academic programs, to attract high-quality faculty and staff and to publicize our successes, past and present -- all of which has resulted in more people choosing YSU."The fall 2004 enrollment of 13,101 is YSU's highest in nine years and represents a 1.9% increase from fall 2003, Sweet noted. It is the fourth consecutive fall semester enrollment increase, following more than a decade of decline. Enrollment has increased by 1,314 students or 11.1% since fall 2000, when the total number of students was 11,787. It also is the 12th consecutive semester that enrollment has gone up on campus, dating to spring semester 2001.The board of regents' enrollment report also showed:Overall enrollment in Ohio's public universities and colleges increased 0.01% in the past year to 457,333. Community colleges (up 0.5%) and technical colleges (up 3.5%) led the way. On the other hand, enrollment at university main campuses dropped 0.1%, and the number of students at university branch campuses fell 2.7%.Four community colleges in Ohio have enrollments over 20,000: Owens State, Sinclair, Columbus State and Cuyahoga County.Stark Technical College experienced the largest one-year enrollment increase at 11%, from 5,665 in fall 2003 to 6,289 this fall. KSU's Geauga branch had the largest one-year enrollment drop, down 16.6%.Enrollment at the KSU Trumbull branch dropped 6.5% from fall 2003 to fall 2004. Since 2000, enrollment at the Trumbull campus has dropped by 337 students (2,331 to 1,994) or 14.5%. Enrollment at KSU's East Liverpool branch dropped 3.2% from last fall to this, but it remains 19.5% higher than four years ago. At the Salem branch campus, enrollment dropped 1.6% this year from last, but it's still 19.2% higher than four years ago.Visit Youngstown State University at www.ysu.edu"