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STEUBENVILLE -- Interim Eastern Gateway Community College President John Crooks conceded Thursday it's the state of Ohio that's making the decisions now in the wake of an announced "pause" on student enrollments, even as members of the school's education association called for "more transparency" by all involved.
EGCC's board of trustees decided Wednesday to pause enrollment activities, but it was the Ohio Department of Higher Education, not the board, that, hours later, broke the news -- saying the enrollment timeout would "provide an opportunity for Eastern Gateway to evaluate options to resolve ongoing financial difficulties partly due to delayed federal funding."
College insiders read that as an indication the state is tightening its grip on operations and decision making, an observation Crook said "is correct."
"The last time (we) went to the controlling board (for assistance), they put some conditions on which allowed a lot of the decisions and future of EGCC to be with the state of Ohio -- specifically the Department of Higher education," he said. "But our goal is to work with them, attempt to get out of the situation we're in and provide opportunities for students to complete their degree programs -- one of the things we have to do is provide appropriate opportunities for students to complete their degrees."
Crooks blamed the college's fiscal problems on funding delays stemming from the U.S. Department of Education's contention that Eastern Gateway improperly used federal Pell grant funds to subsidize it's Free College Benefits program rather than their intended purpose -- to help income-eligible students earn college degrees.
After the government ordered EGCC to shutter the FCB program and submit a teach-out agreement, EGCC filed suit in federal court in September 2022 to block its implementation. That complaint was voluntarily dismissed in 2023 so the two sides could negotiate a settlement on their own, but Eastern Gateway remained on DOE's "heightened cash monitoring" list. The additional scrutiny that designation entails has delayed student aid reimbursements and in November the college was forced to request a $12 million advance from the state controlling board.
"We have this obvious major challenge with cash flow and problems with DOE as it relates to Pell funding, a cash flow issue," Crooks said. "But all the other indicators you want to see are strong and positive."
But the Eastern Gateway Community College Education Association, in association with the Ohio Education Association, voiced frustration with the announcement, saying their members are "profoundly disappointed" with trustees' decision not just to pause student enrollment, but to also approve 40 additional layoffs.
The union, which represents 138 faculty and support staff, said students and staff are scrambling "to understand what this 'pause' actually means for them long-term, and urged "greater transparency about the board's big picture plans for the college. "
"EGCCEA and OEA are also asking state leaders to leave all options on the table as they consider how to best meet the needs of the students and college staff who are impacted by this decision," they said in their news release, the first since the enrollment pause was announced.
"Eastern Gateway Community College has been an invaluable resource for our community, our students, and their families for nearly 60 years," EGCC President Jim Corrin said. "Despite the challenges stemming from mismanagement and the changing landscape of this institution over the last several years, the 138 members of the Eastern Gateway Community College Education Association have remained steadfast in their commitment to providing all students -- on campus and online -- with the best education possible to prepare them for their future lives and careers.
"We want nothing more than to continue providing excellent education in this community," Corrin continued, "but we need answers from the board about whether our positions will continue to exist after the spring semester, how long this "pause" in enrollment may last, and whether there will eventually be a college to return to here."
OEA President Scogtt DiMauro said the board vote to suspend EGCC's enrollment operations "and initiate another round of staff layoffs is truly a devastating blow to the college's students and the faculty and staff who have dedicated their lives and careers to serving them."
"State leaders must rise to the challenge of this moment and provide meaningful support for the 40 EGCC staff who will need immediate job placement assistance, as well as for potentially countless others who have been left in limbo by the board's lack of transparency on its decisions and timelines," DiMauro said. "The board's vote on Wednesday started a countdown clock to the end of the spring semester. EGCC students and staff can't afford to have leaders wait around or build layers of red tape and bureaucracy. They need a plan and a path forward today."
Crooks said it's going to be "a challenge" to right the ship, "I'm not going to say it isn't. But it's possible, we do have some submissions that we have made and will make to USDOE for the release of those (student aid) dollars. Yet at the same time, the state does have us working with Youngstown State University and a handful of other community colleges, just ot make sure our students have a means by which they can complete their degrees."
"I might be an optimist at heart," he said, "but this is something to fight for. We may be closing but we're not closed yet, and we need to try and do everything possible while the chances are there."
He said about 9,000 students are currently enrolled with about 5,000 them slated to graduate this spring.
"I don't think anyone would imagine the number of students we are graduating," he said. "Unfortunately, the emphasis has been on the negatives but there's been a lot of positives with this group of faculty and students."
He said their next step is to "communicate with students, let them know it's been discussed at board meetings, that for those who are graduating, we want to let them have that celebration. We want to make sure the academic celebration can occur."
"We also need to be realistic -- we need to work with YSU and other schools to help students have a 'summer experience' that will help them move toward educational goal," Crooks said.