Dean seeks financial stability in tough times

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL – Dean Jeffrey Nolte is developing a creative plan to entice more out-of -state students to KSU-EL. By offering some type of “Dean’s Scholarship” to outstanding students, enrollment numbers will grow and boost tuition income.

Although the enrollment numbers are good, and currently there are approximately 40 students from Pennsylvania and West Virginia attending this term, KSU-EL needs to become more competitive to generate tuition.

By law, tuition for any non-resident of Ohio is 150 percent that of Ohio residents. According to Nolte, tuition at KSU-EL is comparably less than that of West Liberty State College or Penn State University Beaver Campus, even if students pay the extra 50 percent.

“It pains me to walk by and see empty seats in a class,” said Nolte. "The empty seats translate to a loss of tuition income that helps to pay for services for students and simple expenses such as the light bill and the "Welcome Back Fest.”

The university needs to boost enrollment from across the state line to offset the reduction in financial support in the form of subsidies from the state of Ohio. Higher enrollment leads to higher tuition income, and higher tuition income translates into more subsidy dollars.

Nolte said that a decade ago the state subsidized the East Liverpool campus with an amount that was 55 percent of what the total tuition income was from all students. Now the state only gives 23 percent of the total tuition income. He forecasts that that number will continue to drop in the coming years.

Furthermore, the cost of operation rises at a minimum of 3 percent annually, and tuition increases are prohibited by the state of Ohio at this time.

“This is why it is imperative to figure out a way to offset tuition for the out-of-state crowd. We need to widen our market,” he said. “We grow or we die."