From late-2020 through early 2021, we updated the scan of the campus’s external and internal environments previously conducted in 2016. We identified opportunities and threats in our external environment, and strengths and weaknesses in our internal environment. We then assessed the opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses in terms of the probability of their occurrence or continuance, and the magnitude and direction of their potential impact on the campus.
Strategic Scan
OPPORTUNITIES;
Community support
Community support is strong, as the success of the John and Mary Alford Center for Science and Technology campaign indicates. The campus might draw on that support to generate private funding to fulfill needs for programming and facilities.
Outreach and engagement
Campus constituents regularly work with individuals and organizations in local and regional communities on matters that are relevant to the campus’s mission. This section presents some examples of that work, which could present opportunities for new or expanded collaborations.
In 2016, The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology, in downtown Newark, received recognition from Ohio State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement for the exceptional STEM partnership that it has developed with the campus. For several years, faculty have served as judges or moderators for STEMFest, an annual event that The Works runs for middle school and high school students. Several faculty and the campus’s outreach and engagement staff have participated in Kids’ Tech University, a program established through a partnership involving The Works, Denison University, and Ohio State Newark. Currently, Ohio State Newark and The Works have partnered to operate the SciDome planetarium in downtown Newark. Building on our partnerships with The Works could help us be an even greater contributor to Ohio’s workforce.
Another example of a strong partnership within the county and region is the campus’s LeFevre Fellows program, which connects students to local school districts and community organizations. In spring 2021, the LeFevre Fellows began working closely with the Newark Think Tank on Poverty to create a website highlighting the history and culture of Newark. The campus has strong connections with The United Way of Licking County and many students and faculty have engaged with the community through Pay-It-Forward community service grants from the Ohio Campus Compact. The potential to build on these activities and further engage students in community building is strong.
Ohio State Newark’s administration has partnered with multiple organizations to seek racial justice and equity on campus, in the community and beyond. Our partners have included the Licking County Foundation, the Community Alliance for Racial Justice, the Licking County NAACP, Denison University, COTC, Grow Licking County, Park National Bank, the Licking County Chamber of Commerce, Behavioral Healthcare Partners, the Divided Community Project, and the Columbus Council on World Affairs.
Other campus groups are also partnering with external organizations on antiracism efforts. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee forged new ties with Newark City Schools and the Licking County NAACP in 2020 in developing two proposals for Ohio State’s Seed Fund for Racial Justice (SFRJ). The proposals seek funding to combat racism in the community. These proposals have the potential to strengthen ties between the organizations and between the campus and Newark City Schools students. One of the proposals would create a mentoring program for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students in Newark City Schools. The campus also works closely on college access issues with A Call to College and Our Futures of Licking County.
Ohio State Newark has also partnered with 14 school districts and 61 schools in the area. Faculty in the Department of Teaching and Learning have promoted inclusive teaching, and leadership practices that promote cultural responsiveness and racial equity. The partnerships with the school districts in our region might present an opportunity to enhance our pursuit of social justice.
The campus regularly contributes to the economic development of the region by collaborating with government agencies and economic-support groups to improve the lives of citizens in the region. For instance, along with COTC, CTEC, and Denison University, as well as private businesses, the campus sponsors Grow Licking County, an organization whose mission is to provide responsive and individualized economic development support that enables business to expand or locate in Licking County. Examples of work with government agencies include the service of campus representatives on the Licking County Complete Task Force and the Steering Committee for the Licking County Area Transportation Study.The Newark Earthworks
The Newark Earthworks
The cities of Newark and Heath are home to the ancient Newark Earthworks, created by American Indians 2,000 years ago. Recognized as one of the most important ancient sites in North America, the earthworks are currently in process to become the next U.S. World Heritage Site. If the site receives World Heritage status from UNESCO, it will provide opportunities for Ohio State faculty to create courses, internships, as well as outreach and service-learning activities that would connect students and faculty with local businesses, organizations, and American Indian communities.
In July 2020, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the state’s historical society, the Ohio History Connection (OHC), can use eminent-domain powers to buy out a lease from Moundbuilders Country Club located on a series of the earthworks. The lawsuit could decide whether efforts can proceed to designate the Octagon Earthworks a UNESCO World Heritage Site. OHC claims that the earthworks cannot become a world heritage site if there is a lease and a golf course on the property. Even without World Heritage status, the Newark Earthworks has been a vehicle for students and faculty to interact with the Ohio History Connection, the National Park Service, and American Indians. The campus is thus in a position to enhance students’ understanding of Ohio’s American Indian history and contemporary tribal governments.
The Newark campus is home to the Newark Earthworks Center (NEC), the only academic research center devoted to the earthworks in the State. As a land grant university, whose original endowment came from the sale of American Indian lands located near the incredible architecture of ancestral Native peoples, the NEC serves important roles as a center for Natives and non-Natives alike. The mission of the Newark Earthworks Center is to promote and support research and engagement by faculty, students, scholars, Indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders with an interest in the ancestral and contemporary Indigenous places, peoples, cultures, and experiences within and around Ohio. The NEC is a focus of Indigenous studies at Ohio State, and contributes to scholarship, student experience, and an environment of equity and inclusion. As the NEC’s work grows and World Heritage Status for the Newark Earthworks draws closer, the campus should consider a stand-alone building to house the NEC.
Demographics and population growth
Ohio State Newark enrolls the majority of its students from five Ohio counties, including Licking, Delaware, Franklin, Knox and Fairfield. The Ohio Development Services Agency has projected that persons in the 15-24-year-old age category will increase in each of these counties (by 2.64%, 8.92%, 11.23%, 5.32%, and 6.62%, respectively) over the period from 2020-2025. According to data from the July 2020 County Indicators report, from 2000 to 2018, Licking County was the sixth-fastest growing county in the state. The report also indicates that the county’s population is expected to continue to grow by about 32,000 people in the next 20 years. This growth should help the campus grow its enrollment.
Licking County has also become more racially and ethnically diverse over the past 10 years. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that between 2010 and 2019, increases occurred for the following minorities:
Black or African American (3.5% to 4.2%)
Asian (1% to 2.3%)
Two or more races (1.7% to 2.4%)
Hispanic or Latino (1.4% to 2.1%)
The racial and ethnic diversity of our students, faculty and staff could play a role in helping the community celebrate its increasing racial and ethnic diversity and leverage and work toward greater racial equity.
Workforce needs
Reports from economists and national think tanks address the issue of the future economy and note that it will demand a highly educated population to meet economic development and workforce needs. According to the 2026 Ohio Job Outlook Employment Projections, in Ohio, the occupational groups that will grow fastest and produce the most new jobs between 2016 and 2026 are the “healthcare support” and “healthcare practitioners and technical” groups, which will add 44,348 and 46,256 jobs, respectively. Other occupational groups that are made up predominantly of degree-requiring jobs and are expected to grow quickly over that period include the following:
- Community and social service
- Life, physical, and social science
- Education, training, and library
- Business and financial operations
- Computer and mathematical
- Architecture and engineering
- Management
The numbers of new jobs expected in these groupings varies dramatically. For instance, the education, training, and library group is expected to gain 25,757 jobs while the life, physical, and social science group is expected to gain 3,276 jobs.
According to the July 2020 County Indicators report, manufacturing jobs in Licking County grew by 22% between 2012 and 2018. We expect that trend to continue. Jobs in the tourism sector, too, are likely to increase if the Newark Earthworks becomes a World Heritage site.
The campus should consider both state and county projections when considering new academic programming (e.g., additional courses to allow students to complete more of a degree program before changing to the Columbus campus or to allow them to complete an entire program on the Newark campus). The campus should also consider state and county job projections when assessing the relevance of existing academic programming.
Potential Collaboration with P-12 Institutions in the local area
The availability of the old State Farm building on Newark-Granville Road in Newark has stimulated CTEC, Newark City Schools, COTC and Ohio State Newark to explore collaborating in new ways. Representatives from those organizations have begun discussing potential collaborations with each other and with other organizations that might have an interest in utilizing the facility. Potential outcomes include educational programming, daycare, mental health services, and more.
THREATS;
Strains on students’ financial resources
Only 26.2% of Licking County residents have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 39.3% of Franklin Country residents and 31.5% of the nation as a whole. Approximately 39% of Ohio State Newark students receive federal Pell grants, a key indicator of low-income family demographics. In 2019-20, 71% of Ohio State Newark students received some kind of aid, whether federal, state/local, or institutional (including both grants and loans). The average amount of institutional aid was $2,485. Many of our students work long hours at part-time jobs as they pursue their studies, which must be taken into account as we schedule classes and events that are designed to engage students and support retention and graduation success.
Uncertain state funding for higher education
The campus’s revenue comes predominantly from two sources: tuition and state subsidy (State Share of Instruction or SSI). State support for higher education in the last few state biennia has not kept pace with inflation, and SSI is down compared to where it was 10 years ago. SSI comprised 31% of the campus’s revenue in 2011, 25% in 2016, and 27% in 2020. SSI is now based on performance criteria focusing on retention, course completion, and graduation. Increases in Ohio State Newark’s enrollment and the number of Ohio State Newark students going on to complete degrees, especially associate’s degrees, have helped Ohio State Newark earn funding through the SSI formula despite the limited amount of funding the state has made available through the formula.
Tuition has been capped by the state, but the state has given colleges and universities some flexibility to make increases that do not exceed the caps.
Competition for students by other educational providers
Increasingly, in the interest of saving money, students and their families are exploring higher-education options at Ohio’s community colleges, other state schools, online courses, and high schools. Thus, competition for students has increased. As the production of high-school graduates declines in other areas of the state, the competition is likely to become even more intense.
Higher education researchers have found that students are increasingly pursuing “stackable credentials” that include certificates, two-year degrees, and four-year degrees, with the goal of increasing their value to potential employers, as well as lowering the current costs of their education and any future debt. Ohio State Newark provides associate’s degrees to students who may or may not continue toward their four-year baccalaureate degrees which assists students with their credentials while seeking employment or additional educational opportunities.
The Newark campus is also affected by the expansion of the state’s “College Credit Plus” program for high school students who take many of their college courses at their high schools through other colleges or universities. Increasingly, students enter Ohio State Newark with credit for GE courses that they have taken from other colleges or universities. Consequently, the campus’s GE courses generate less revenue than they would if incoming students with credit for GE courses had taken those courses through Ohio State Newark. This situation is affecting all of Ohio State’s campuses. In response, the Office of Academic Affairs has started a conversation regarding the possibility of a virtual version of the university’s Academy program, through which it offers courses to high school students.
Coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented financial and operational challenges for colleges and universities. The state issued a 3.8% budget cut in May of 2020 for all state colleges and universities and set its FY21 budget 4.6% below the previous fiscal year to balance its budget. This resulted in a cut in subsidy, but in 2021, the state restored the cuts it made to its funding for higher education. The implications of that restoration are not clear yet for the regional campuses.
The pandemic continues to spark uncertainty in other areas as well, especially with respect to course-delivery formats. The campus shifted to all remote education for spring and summer of 2020. In the fall of 2020, we offered a mix of in-person, hybrid, and online classes. Our safety protocols included a combination of the use of appropriate face coverings, physical distancing, hand hygiene, limited density in indoor spaces, control of the flow of traffic into and around buildings, continued employee teleworking when possible, testing, symptoms tracking, and cooperation with county departments of health to facilitate contact tracing.
A higher proportion of students sought only online courses for spring semester, 2021. The reasons for that trend are not clear yet, but several factors seem reasonable. Those factors include a stronger desire to avoid contracting the virus, a greater need for convenience (especially for students who otherwise commuted from remote areas), and greater comfort with online learning. Yet, because retention from fall 2020 to spring 2021 is down substantially from fall-to-spring retention during the previous academic year, a selection factor might explain some of the increase in the proportion of students seeking only online courses. Students who are not comfortable with that format might be deciding to stop enrolling until they are able to select a course schedule that includes only courses that will meet in person. Thus, the higher percentage of students seeking a schedule of course that are all online might be due to a reduction in the number of students enrolling rather than to an increase in the number of students seeking only online courses. Thus, the apparent increase in demand might not be as large as it seems to be.
Other areas of uncertainty include residence hall occupancy, education abroad, and travel by students and faculty members, whether to hold large events such as student orientations and visits, graduation celebrations, and conferences or to travel to conduct research. The health and safety of students and employees will continue to be a priority for the campus as we move through 2021.
Enrollment is of special concern because of its relevance to our budget. The pandemic led the Columbus campus to expect a decline in international students this past fall. To make up for the loss of revenue from those students, the university admitted significantly more Ohio students to the Columbus campus. Many of those students would have attended a regional campus, and so one consequence of the decision was that enrollment at the regional campuses fell short of projections. The Newark campus experiences an enrollment decline of 2.4%. It is not clear yet if the university will admit a larger number of Ohio students to the Columbus campus again for fall, 2021. If so, the campus is not likely to see enrollment growth. If not, then the campus would seem to be likely to return to a trend of continual enrollment growth. The earlier the university decides on the number of Ohio students it plans to admit to the Columbus campus, the better the campus will be able to plan for fall, 2021.
We also note that the pandemic has exacerbated our students’ financial strains and threatened their mental health. Underrepresented and financially disadvantaged students have been the most vulnerable. We need to consider the impact the pandemic may have on our students’ ability to persist, and our prospective students’ ability to enroll at the campus.
Racism and racial injustice
In July of 2020, Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce McPheron and Executive Vice President and Chancellor for Health Affairs Hal Paz issued the following statement:
“Racism and racial inequities must be addressed with sustained action, and we stand united in our commitment to create lasting change. While these problems are persistent, the terrible events that have taken place this year have reinforced the need to act now and into the future to bend the arc of history toward justice.”
The campus values the diversity of our student population and recognizes that students of color do not feel as welcome in the local community as do white students. When entering businesses, some of our students have experienced racial discrimination. Thus, although many of our antiracism efforts surely need to focus on the campus itself, some of our work needs to take place in—and with—the community. We need to continue engaging the community and our students on racism and racial inequities, and to continue finding ways to move beyond conversation to action if we are to become the model inclusive community of the future.
STRENGTHS;
Student success
The overall four-year graduation rate for Ohio State Newark’s 2016 cohort of first-year full-time students was 22%, and the overall, first-to-second-year retention rate for the 2019 cohort of full-time first-year students was 71%. Both rates were the highest they have been over the past 10 years. The graduation and retention rates were lower for underrepresented students (12% and 68% respectively), but the gap between underrepresented minorities’ and all other students’ graduation rates shrank dramatically. For the 2019 cohort, the gap was only three percentage points. For the 2018 cohort, it was 11 percentage points.
The Ohio State University brand
The Newark campus benefits from the brand name of The Ohio State University and its reputation for quality faculty, academic programs, and research while it also is known as a more affordable option for students in the region.
Affordability
The cost of attendance at Ohio State Newark is significantly lower than the cost of attendance at the Columbus campus, and the Newark campus offers institutional financial aid including scholarships and grants. In 2019-2020, Ohio State Newark awarded $3,944,377 in merit and need-based scholarships, which constitute critical financial support for our students That total includes the President’s Affordability Grant, which was awarded to 1426 Newark campus students for a total of $1,529,249, and the Buckeye Opportunity Program, which provided over $343,286 to Newark campus students. Nonetheless, these strengths do not negate challenges with respect to getting financial aid to our most financially challenged students, an issue we address in our section on weaknesses.
Land-grant mission and the role of regional campuses
Open access to an Ohio State degree through the regional campuses has been identified as a critical factor in the land-grant mission of the university. Approximately 29% of the freshman of The Ohio State University’s class of 2019 started on one of the regional campuses, illustrating the critical role that the regional campuses play in Ohio State’s long-term student recruitment and success initiatives.
New Strategic Enrollment Plan
In May 2021, the university released its 2022-2024 strategic enrollment plan, entitled “Accelerating Excellence, Access and Service.” For the regional campuses, the plan set several objectives:
- Increase regional campus NFYS enrollment to 3,300-3,400
- Increase percentage of first-generation students to 39%
- Increase percentage of Pell-eligible students to 41%
- Increase enrollment of underrepresented minority students
- Increase first-year retention rate for students who begin on a regional campus to 76%
- Increase six-year graduation rate for students who begin on a regional campus to 46%
The plan’s strategies for accomplishing these objectives fall into four domains:
- University-wide recruitment collaboration
- Financial aid awards and procedures
- Recruitment processes on the regional campuses
- Recruitment outreach on the regional campuses
Perhaps the most significant new strategy is to move eligibility for the Buckeye Opportunity Grant to the first semester of enrollment. Since the program’s inception, eligibility during the first semester of enrollment has been restricted to students starting at the Columbus campus. Students starting at the regional campuses are not eligible until their second semester. This change is welcome because it will address the financial challenges that some students face in their first semester and because it addresses the financial-aid inequity between students starting at the Columbus campus and students starting at a regional campus—an inequity that was inherent in the program’s design. We hope that the university will implement it in fall semester, 2021.
Course offerings and degree programs
The regional campuses’ deans continually work with college deans and department chairs to consider new course offerings and degree programs for the regional campuses, and to assess the value of the regional campuses’ current course offerings and degree programs. Enrollment in the campus’s undergraduate programs is fairly strong, and in early 2021, the Office of Academic Affairs asked the regional deans to explore additional course offerings and degree programs in the following colleges: Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Medicine; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Nursing. The regional deans offered preliminary ideas, and plan to work their campuses’ respective academic affairs committees and with the colleges to further explore possible new course offerings and degree programs.
President Johnson has also expressed an interest in new degree programs that might be offered at the regional campuses and that could help the university better meet the state’s workforce needs. To that end, the Newark campus should give careful consideration to the workforce needs identified in this document under “Opportunities” in the “External Environment” section.
The strong interest of university leaders in the role of the regional campuses in helping the university advance its mission means that the university and the campuses are poised to deliver the best academic programming possible. Many students who start at Ohio State Newark transition to the Columbus campus to finish their degrees, future students might spend more time on the Newark campus before transitioning to the Columbus campus or complete all of their coursework here.
Demand for STEM courses is increasing, and the campus is having difficulty offering enough of them to allow students to complete their degrees in a timely manner. Additionally, although the state’s demand for engineers, especially in computer-related fields, is increasing, the College of Engineering has not been able to accommodate all students on the Columbus campus who are interested and qualified for its programs. Additionally, some place-bound students and other students prefer to remain on the Newark campus to complete their degrees. Thus, demand seems to be sufficient for the campus to offer second-year STEM courses, which the opening of the Alford Center for Science and Technology will facilitate. As enrollment grows, sufficient demand for additional degree programs may materialize as well.
In 2023, the campus will launch the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology, housed in the College of Engineering. Such technically oriented programs may become more common at the regional campuses, and the Newark campus needs to ascertain what infrastructural improvements are necessary to permit such development.
Presidential leadership
The presidency at the university was successfully transitioned in September 2020, when Kristina Johnson took office as the university’s 16th president. Dr. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in the academic, business and public policy sectors. She has expressed a strong interest in the role the regional campuses play in helping the university fulfill its mission. In her State of the University Address in February of 2021, she set a goal for all Ohio State students to have no debt upon graduation, and she established a 10-year timeline for the university to accomplish that goal. We need to revise our original strategic plan’s goal to be consistent with this new university-level goal.
Access to Ohio State faculty and smaller classes
Students who attend Ohio State Newark have access to tenure-track or tenured faculty who are members of their departments that are headquartered at the Columbus campus. Due to the smaller class sizes at Ohio State Newark, students receive more individual attention from their faculty, and have more access to faculty. Students also have plentiful opportunities to engage in undergraduate research and other high-impact educational practices with faculty, all of which increase student engagement with the university, which, in turn, helps students persist in completing their degrees.
Student diversity
Ohio State Newark enrolls a diverse student body. Approximately 31% of our students are racial or ethnic minorities, and our students represent approximately 33 different countries of origin. Ohio State Newark has made great progress in closing the educational achievement gap among students of underrepresented ethnic and racial groups.
Commitment to supporting underrepresented populations
The campus is committed to addressing issues of equity in relation to retention and will continue to make the academic success of students of color and other marginalized students a high priority.
The Ohio State Newark Faculty Assembly established a new committee focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2019. In July 2020, the committee recommended a comprehensive list of antiracism initiatives to the dean and director and the Faculty Assembly Executive Committee. These recommendations have been widely vetted by campus constituents. As a result, several specific strategies and initiatives are included in this strategic plan.
The campus also conducted an external evaluation of our climate for diversity, equity and inclusion, and the reports for from the evaluation were submitted in the spring semester of 2021. Several recommendations from the evaluation are consistent with recommendations of from the DEI Committee. The campus will need to take the recommendations into account as it strengthens its commitment to social justice.
In 2020, the university established the Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities (TFRRI) to propose “serious, achievable action steps that will advance principles of and promote an equitable, healthy, supportive and nurturing university community,” and the SFRJ to “address structural or institutional racism; implicit bias and privilege; and racial and cultural disparities.” The campus has provided input to the TFRRI and submitted proposals to the SFRJ. It has also partnered with other organizations in the local community to help area citizens understand structural racism. Our response to these programs provides further evidence of our commitment to supporting underrepresented populations.
Additionally, several of our STEM faculty are working with our grants specialist to resubmit a proposal to the National Science Foundation’s S-STEM program. The group is proposing a program at the Newark campus to recruit and retain low-income, academically talented students into STEM disciplines. The proposal received very positive reviews but no funding in the last round of S-STEM awards. Noteworthy contributors include a local benefactor and Stone Lab. Such a program would serve the interests of the Graduate School and the College of Arts and Sciences, which have expressed interest in the role that Ohio State Newark could play in expanding the pipeline of students from underrepresented populations who enter STEM graduate programs at Ohio State.
Additionally, Dr. Aman Husbands, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, recently received an NSF grant to help increase the flow of underrepresented students moving from the Newark campus to the Columbus campus in STEM disciplines by providing summer research experiences that enrich their transition experience. The grant covers lodging and provides a stipend and the Graduate School will cover the students’ tuition and travel costs. Student activities will include career preparation and planning, presentations at a student symposium, and social activities with students with similar academic interests.
Faculty diversity
Both the racial/ethnic and gender diversity of the tenure-track faculty at the Newark campus has increased over the past 10 years. Increasing the diversity of the faculty is important because it enriches students’ educational experience, promotes student success, broadens the range of role models for students, and prepares students to be contributing citizens at all levels of society.
Faculty research and creative expression
Tenure-track faculty at the Newark campus have a strong record of research and creative expression. In addition to publishing journal articles and books and producing performances, the faculty have attracted funding and recognition from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; from state agencies such as the Ohio Division of Wildlife, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Ohio Department of Transportation; from private organizations such as the Simons Foundation; and from the university’s Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme program. Opportunities to grow research within and between disciplines seem to be growing as faculty at the campus have become increasingly collaborative.
Associated Faculty
The number of associated faculty employed by the campus has increased substantially as the campus’s enrollment and demand for lower-level courses have grown. Our associated faculty deliver excellent teaching and often express a desire to be involved in the campus in ways that exceed their responsibilities. Recognizing that commitment, we recently added “teaching faculty” appointments to our Appointments, Promotion and Tenure (APT) document. That move brought us closer to hiring associated faculty into positions that would enable them to contribute service to the campus. To get to the point where the campus can make such hires, the campus and tenure-initiating units (TIUs) need to take additional steps. The deans of the regional campuses and administrators in the College of Arts and Sciences are conversing about what those steps should be.
Alumni engagement
Many Ohio State Newark alumni are business and community leaders in the region who are passionate about the campus and are willing to support students through their involvement in targeted initiatives. Many alumni support the campus through scholarships, service on the campus’s Board, and activities through which they provide mentoring for students.
Partnership with Central Ohio Technical College (COTC)
Ohio State Newark realizes cost saving by sharing facilities, services, and employees with COTC. This partnership serves as a model of efficiency for the state and nation, particularly during a time when the state legislature in Ohio is in the process of developing a model for efficiency at the state’s seven co-located regional campuses and two-year colleges.
Institutional finances
Ohio State Newark’s forward-thinking budgeting process is critical in this period of uncertainty regarding State funding, tuition caps, emphasis on affordability, and mandates to identify efficiencies and savings. The campus’s revenue streams and endowments are positive, and its conservative budgeting and low debt should keep it on a sustainable fiscal path.
Campus facilities and parking
The physical plant of Ohio State Newark is well-maintained, as are the grounds, which include expansive green space and contribute to a positive aesthetic environment. Parking is available at no cost to students and visitors to the campus. Additionally, Ohio State Newark and COTC recently developed a new master plan, Framework 2.0, for the physical development of the campus.
Enhanced recreational facilities
The renovation of Adena Hall enhanced our recreation and fitness facility and provide students, faculty, staff, and alumni better wellness and fitness support.
Student-success initiatives
Initiatives involving learning communities, faculty-mentoring, first-year programming and more have succeeded in increasing retention and graduation rates. While most of the funding for these initiatives has come from the campus, the Office of Academic Affairs has provided $75,000 per year since 2018-19 to support the campus’s efforts to strengthen and/or expand peer mentoring (in the Exploration course and in learning communities), faculty mentoring, and support services for students. Several of these efforts were focused on the Exploration course that all first-year students must take. Though OAA’s $75,000 annual investment is limited to three years, the money has helped us establish effective practices that we are prepared to sustain when OAA completes its investment. Furthermore, in 2019, OAA began providing almost $150,000 annually to pilot the Second-Year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) at the Newark campus. Over 60 Newark campus students have participated in STEP. The campus is investing approximately $25,000 per year in STEP and is preparing a budget to continue STEP after OAA’s funding ends if the results of the pilot indicate that the program is successful.
For some time, the campus has been expanding its learning communities, which began in the fall of 2012 with the Buckeye Generation Learning Community (BGLC), a learning community for first-generation students. Data show that over the last three years, we retained first-generation students who participated in the BGLC at a higher rate than we retained first-generation students who did not participate in the BGLC. Furthermore, BGLC students also had higher grade-point averages than did their other first-generation peers. The campus also established an Engineering Learning Community in 2014, and participation is strong. Additionally, in 2018, the campus established a learning community (Scarlet and Gray Excellence, or SAGE) open to all students, but designed specifically to support students of color. Participation has been strong here, too; furthermore, Ohio State Newark’s retention specifically of students of color saw a dramatic increase in 2019-2020.
In 2015, the campus began participating in a national initiative to improve graduation rates among low-income students through the Senior Completion Grant Program, an initiative of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The program is exploring the development of policies and practices to help reduce financial stress for low-income senior students and to help them complete their degrees. The funding we provide helps students in their final year of studies.
In 2016, Ohio State Newark engaged in a retention/advising project with the larger university as part of a national initiative to increase student retention through the use of predictive analytics. The initiative utilizes a data-analytics platform that Ohio State calls OnCourse. The Newark campus’s Office of Advising, Center for Student Success, and Office of Retention and Student Success Initiatives offices use the platform to provide targeted outreach to students, help develop a coordinated-care model across the university, reduce the cost of attendance, reduce time to degree, and increase student retention and graduation rates.
Another initiative designed to address student retention through faculty engagement is the EXP Faculty Mentoring program that was initiated in 2016 where faculty mentors are embedded within students’ first semester university introductory course. From this initiative, students have gained an increased understanding of what faculty do as well as feel more comfortable approaching faculty outside of class. In addition, faculty mentors gain a better understanding of their students that helps them become a more effective instructor. Personal support services are provided by campus to support the holistic success of our students. These include the Newark Emergency Grant as well as the Campus Corner: Student Food Pantry, which opened in 2017 as a result of feedback obtained from the We Care Survey administered to COTC and Ohio State Newark students in spring 2017.
In 2015, the campus conducted a study to learn more about the successes and challenges facing our students whose first language was not English. As a result of that study, the “ESL professional tutor and mentor” position was established in the Center for Student Success in 2016. The tutor/mentor supported only Ohio State Newark students for the first year and then transitioned into a more typical, professional tutor position serving students at COTC as well.
In 2019, the campus joined the Gardner Institute’s PACE-Setter Project. The project, which ends in 2022, will help the campus analyze student performance in high-enrolled courses that have very low completion rates and grade-point averages and then use the results to redesign courses, help faculty enhance their pedagogies, improve advising and other forms of student support, and revise curricula.
The campus has access to over $1 million in funds to support future student-success initiatives. In responding to the state’s call to universities to be more efficient, the university established the Efficiencies and Savings Initiative, which required Ohio State’s colleges and regional campuses to set efficiency objectives and savings goals. Ohio State Newark has met its savings goal (approximately $1.3 million) and may now seek approval from OAA to use the funds. OAA is restricting the funds to uses that align with the university’s strategic plan’s student-success goals.
Declines in new graduates’ debt
The percentage of graduates who, via the Graduation Survey, reported that they would have $20,000 or more in debt upon graduation has dropped two years in a row, reaching 40% in the spring of 2020, which was the goal the campus set in the first version of this plan. We are now in a position to reset that goal.
The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning
The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning is now firmly established and includes representation from the Newark campus.
Staff classification and compensation structure update
Career Roadmap is a comprehensive job family model and pay structure that will provide visibility to career paths for managers and staff to foster equitable, consistent compensation practices across the university and medical center. With an expected early-2022 launch following the implementation of Workday, Career Roadmap will enable Ohio State to recruit, retain and inspire the talent needed to fulfill our mission.
Campus art
The campus has been fortunate to receive numerous sculptures thanks to the generosity of Gib and Lou Reese. The campus’s statuary includes numerous sculptures from Gary Lee Price’s Great Contributors Series and sculptures created by Seward Johnson. The most recent addition to the statuary is a sculpture of Harriet Tubman, which was installed in February of 2021. Several different forms of art reside inside our buildings, and the campus periodically hosts art exhibits in its LeFevre Art Gallery, which in recent years has hosted exhibits featuring art from the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians and from the Ngatu of Polynesia. Considering the increasing diversity of our students and our faculty, and the value the campus places on diversity, equity and inclusion, the campus should take steps to further increase the degree to which the pieces installed on campus represent and celebrate human diversity.
WEAKNESSES;
Graduates’ satisfaction with their experience at Ohio State
Since 2015-16, Ohio State’s Graduation Survey Report has broken out satisfaction rates by campus of entrance to the university. In that year’s survey, approximately 61% of the graduates who started at the Newark campus indicated that they were satisfied with their overall experience as a student at Ohio State. The following year, the rate increased to 71%, but then fell to 55% the next year, and then to 50% this past spring (2020). While the drop from 2018-19 to 2019-20 might be explained by the effects of the pandemic, we are still well below our goal. Alternative data, collected every three years through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), showed that in 2019, 75% of first-year students and 96% of seniors who completed the survey rated their overall experience at the campus as “excellent” or “good.” Senior Newark campus students scored significantly higher than their peers at other Ohio public institutions in six of the ten identified engagement indicators.
According to the results of the 2019 NSSE, Newark campus first-year students’ responses on the “Supportive Environment” measure were on average significantly lower than the means for first-year students at other Ohio public institutions. The “Supportive Environment” scale included items such as providing support for overall well-being (recreation, health care, counseling, etc.), providing opportunities to be involved socially, and attending campus activities and events, among others. This result suggests that more can be done to improve first-year students’ experiences at Ohio State Newark.
Housing options
Although the campus opened a new residence hall in the fall of 2017 that increased our campus housing capacity to 300 students, the demand from students who desire a residential campus experience continues to increase. The Lima, Marion and Newark campuses are exploring the possibility of a public-private partnership and have conducted a market assessment of student housing for each campus. In the case of Ohio State Newark, the assessment suggested that potential exists for a new student housing development of 260 beds. The company that did the assessment recommended that the campus consider building units similar to McConnell Hall in style (i.e., double-occupancy dormitory-style rooms that efficiently house students and clearly meet or exceed their on-campus housing needs). The company also recommended that any future residential development include additional dining space and services and additional activity space or common areas.
Fluctuation in the university’s criteria for admission to the Columbus campus
Although Ohio State’s highly competitive admissions policy has encouraged prospective students from outside the region to apply to the regional campuses for their first year of studies at Ohio State, last year’s decision to open admission to the Columbus campus to all Ohio applicants midway through the application cycle caused a decline in enrollment at the Newark campus. The regional deans are working to get a better understanding of the process for making such decisions and to seek a greater role in it.
Engagement of commuter students
There are challenges in engaging commuter students who hold jobs and have other commitments away from campus. We know from the data that engaged students are more likely to be retained and to complete their degrees.
Dining/food services options
Dining and food options on campus are limited because of a lack of customer volume. However, university dining services has committed to exploring the expanding dining options and services. The campus is grateful for that effort and hopes that it can continue and lead to positive outcomes.
IT services
Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the campus contracted with the Office of the Chief Information Officer to manage IT operations and services. Although a number of significant infrastructure improvements were quickly realized, almost half of the faculty and staff have expressed dissatisfaction with the overall IT service experience. A review of the service-level agreement is underway and will provide an opportunity for the campus and the OCIO to chart a path to better outcomes. The results of a spring-semester survey of faculty and staff showed an improvement in satisfaction, but room for improvement exists.
Workday administrative system
In January 2021, the university began to replace outdated technology and implement Workday, an enterprise-wide administrative technology system. Workday will serve as a single system for the university’s business operations in finance, supply chain management, human resources, payroll, student services, and business intelligence and analytics. All employees use Workday to update personal information, request leave, select benefits and more. The campus embraces the modernization of administrative systems and increasing the effectiveness of business processes, and we recognize that the university needs time to adjust to this new technology.
Classroom and laboratory space
The campus has a master plan to address deferred maintenance and has received state capital funding for critical deferred maintenance projects, but there is a strong need for more classroom space as well as laboratory space for STEM teaching and research. Much-needed renovations to the campus’ oldest building, Founders Hall, face challenges due to lack of swing space. We learned from the pandemic that many of our staff employees’ duties can be done remotely, at least for a short time. Working remotely may be a solution to the swing-space issue.
Regional campus as “second choice”—a perception held by some students and families
The deans/directors of the regional campuses are working closely with the university’s senior leadership in the areas of marketing and communications to integrate the regional campuses into the overall university’s recruitment strategy in a positive and pro-active way in order to communicate the strengths of attending Ohio State at one of the regional campuses.
Faculty training in teaching methods
Many faculty have little training in teaching and are unaware of techniques that neutralize cultural biases in their pedagogies. Fortunately, most, if not all, of the faculty are interested in continually improving their teaching skills, and the university has made resources and support for pedagogical development available through the Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Staff satisfaction with their employment at The Ohio State University at Newark
Eighty percent of staff members who participated in the Ruffalo Noel Levitz employee satisfaction survey in 2019 indicated that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their overall employment at Ohio State. Non-cost shared staff members indicate greater satisfaction than cost-shared staff, 95.2% and 71.8% respectively. The overall average satisfaction ratings for all staff (both Ohio State non-cost shared and cost-shared) for the last four administrations of the survey indicate a pattern of slight decline in levels of average overall satisfaction from each of the previous years, ranging from a high in in 2013, with an overall score of 4.18 (out of 5.0) down to 4.02 in 2019.
Concerns about work evaluation and job security
COVID-19 has spurred national economic downturns, and Ohio State employees have responded to these economic trends with particular concerns about the fate of higher education, Ohio State’s budget, and the possibility of job loss at the university. Fifty-four percent of staff members who participated in the July 2020 Women’s Place Faculty & Staff COVID-19 Remote Work Experiences survey expressed concern about their job security, while 42% of faculty expressed concern. Non-tenured faculty were far more likely to be concerned about their job security (61%), compared with only 22% of tenured faculty. Assistant tenure-track professors indicated considerable concerns about how their research progress during 2020 would be evaluated (59%).
Campus climate on diversity
In 2018, the Center for the Study of Student Life included regional-campus students in the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership which included a survey pertaining to the campus climate for diversity. On average, 67% of Ohio State Newark students who participated in the survey indicated that they had not encountered discrimination while attending the campus; 17% reported encountering discrimination. Eighty-three percent of students on the Newark campus reported that they had not experienced discrimination by faculty; 84% indicated they had not experienced discrimination by staff. Eight percent of students reported encountering discrimination from faculty and 5.4% reported encountering discrimination from staff. Approximately 15% of students agreed or strongly agreed that there is a general atmosphere of prejudice among students.
Based upon responses from students participating in the 2018 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership, the campus received a Discriminatory Climate Score of 4.11 and a Sense of Belonging score of 3.68 (out of possible high score of 5). Higher scores on discriminatory climate indicate the perception that there is less discrimination on campus. Higher scores on the sense of belonging scale indicate a greater sense of belongingness. Students of color and LGBTQ+ students reported lower discriminatory climate scores, 3.85 and 3.96, respectively. Students reporting a conservative political affiliation reported lower sense of belongingness (3.53).
Climate of the surrounding Newark community
Less than half (47%) of students participating in the 2018 climate survey considered themselves a part of the Newark community, and only 30% considered themselves to be an important part of the Newark community. Women (3.39) and students of color (3.46) reported higher average membership to community scores (five-point scale) than males (3.28) and white students (3.31).
On average, 68% of the participants indicated that the Newark community treated students with respect, and 58% said they feel respected by those who live in the Newark community. Almost 60% felt that they can get help from someone in the community if they are in trouble while off campus. Women (3.23) and students of color (3.34) reported higher average community safety scores (five-point scale) than did males (3.20) and white students (3.17). Rating how safe they feel at different types of locations in Newark, students reported feeling the most unsafe at gas stations (37.7%) and public parks (25%) and most safe at restaurants (85.8%), public libraries (76.8%), and movie theaters (66.8%).
Getting financial aid to our most financially challenged students
Despite the financial aid that the campus and the university provide, and despite the lower tuition at the regional campuses, some of our most financially challenged students face a higher cost of attendance than do students at the Columbus campus. Some of the difference is due to higher personal/miscellaneous expenses, but much of the difference is due to differences in eligibility for certain types of financial aid, some from internal sources and some from the state. We will continue to try to understand why students at the regional campuses are ineligible for that financial aid and either seek eligibility for them or find equal amounts of aid from other sources.