Type | Public community college |
---|---|
Established | 1968 |
Parent institution | University System of Ohio |
Accreditation | HLC |
President | John Crooks |
Students | 15,300 (Fall 2023) [1] |
Location | , , U.S. |
Campus | Suburban |
Colors | Blue & white [2] |
Nickname | Gators |
Mascot | Edugator |
Website | www |
Eastern Gateway Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Steubenville, Ohio, and a second campus in Youngstown. Although the college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, its accreditor placed the college on probation in 2021 for concerns about "assessment, HR record keeping and data collection and analysis." [3] The college began experiencing severe financial distress in 2023 and plans to close on October 31, 2024. [4]
The school was founded in 1966 as Jefferson County Technical Institute, opening its doors for the first time in 1968 to serve the residents of Jefferson County, Ohio. It later changed its name to Jefferson Technical College in 1977. In 1995, the technical college became a community college and the name changed once more to Jefferson Community College. In 2009, the college expanded its service district to include three Ohio counties in addition to the original Jefferson: Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull. This resulted in a further name change and the college became known as Eastern Gateway Community College in October 2009.
The college briefly drew national attention in 2020 when its board of trustees fired the college's president. He had been placed on administrative leave and was subsequently fired by a unanimous vote of the board for "dereliction of duty and inappropriate management." [5]
In late 2021, the college was again the focus of national attention when its accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, placed the college on probation due to concerns about a new relationship with a for-profit company that focused on increasing student enrollments in online courses. Through its relationship with the Student Resource Center, EGCC nearly doubled its class sizes in online courses and eliminated textbooks in those courses. These new enrollments came primarily from union members or their family members as the program was largely aimed at allowing them to attend the college for free. In a November 2021 news article, Inside Higher Ed reported that "43,890 of the 46,606 [students enrolled at the college] are union members or family of union members." [6] The Student Resource Center received 50% of the profits from these new enrollments which was "slightly more than $7 million" in the 2020 fiscal year. [6] Concerns about the quality of teaching at the college during this rapid expansion prompted the college's accreditor to place it on probation because "there is no evidence Eastern Gateway's free-college-for-union-members business model provides a high-quality education." [7] Two months later, these same concerns led the U.S. Department of Education to open its own investigation into the use of federal financial aid at the college. [8] In 2023, the college shut down the free-college-for-union-members program. [9]
On February 29, 2024, Eastern Gateway announced it was pausing enrollment. With the announcement, Eastern Gateway is partnering with Youngstown State University on transferring existing students to YSU or other colleges. YSU also announced it is considering opening its first satellite campus in Steubenville to serve students in the area. [10] About a month later, the college's board of trustees announced that the college's financial challenges were so severe that the college would likely close in June. This occurred despite an emergency infusion of $6 million from the state. The trustees also announced that the college was resigning from the Higher Learning Commission, the college's accreditor, effective on November 1. [11] Faculty received notices on March 28 stating that their contracts were not going to be renewed due to financial constraints. [12] The board of trustees later decided on an October 31 dissolution date. [13]
The college uses open admissions.
Eastern Gateway Community College offers 60 majors in the areas of business technologies, information technologies, engineering technologies, health and public services. The degrees offered are Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Business, Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Technical Studies, and Associate of Individualized Studies. [14]
Tuition for in-state students enrolled during the 2017–2018 academic year was $117 per credit hour. [15] Tuition is waived for students living in Jefferson, Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties. [16]
Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles (53 km) west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1786 fort that sat within the city's current limits and was named for Prussian military officer Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. It is a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area, which had a 2020 population of 116,903 residents.
Youngstown is a city in and the county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 60,068, making it the eleventh-most populous city in Ohio. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which had 430,591 residents in 2020 and is the seventh-largest metro area in Ohio. Youngstown is situated on the Mahoning River in Northeast Ohio, 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Cleveland and 61 miles (100 km) northwest of Pittsburgh.
The region Northeast Ohio, in the US state of Ohio, in its most expansive usage contains six metropolitan statistical areas: Cleveland–Elyria, Akron, Canton–Massillon, Youngstown–Warren, Mansfield, and Weirton–Steubenville along with eight micropolitan statistical areas. Most of the region is considered either part of the Cleveland–Akron–Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area and media market or the Youngstown–Warren, OH–PA Combined Statistical Area and media market. In all, the region is home to: 4,502,460 residents. It is also a part of the Great Lakes megalopolis, containing over 54 million people. Northeast Ohio also includes most of the area known historically as the Connecticut Western Reserve.
Youngstown State University is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio.
Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) is a public medical school in Rootstown, Ohio, United States. It specializes in graduate education in medicine and pharmacy but also has a College of Graduate Studies.
James Patrick Tressel is an American college football coach and university administrator who served as president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio from 2014 to 2023. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the head football coach of the Youngstown State Penguins and later the Ohio State Buckeyes in a career that spanned from 1986 until 2010. Tressel's teams earned several national championships during the course of his career, earning him numerous accolades.
WFMJ-TV is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is locally owned by the Maag family. WFMJ-TV's studios are located on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown, and its transmitter is based in the city's Lansingville neighborhood.
WYTV is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Vaughan Media, LLC, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of CBS affiliate WKBN-TV and low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LD, for the provision of certain services. The three stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown's Pleasant Grove neighborhood, where WYTV's transmitter is also located.
Newbury College was a private college in Brookline, Massachusetts, originally founded in 1962.
Keystone College is a private college in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Although the college's official mailing address is La Plume, Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County, much of the campus is in Factoryville in Wyoming County. It was founded in 1868 and enrolls approximately 1,200 students in around 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. In May 2024, following over a decade of enrollment and revenue decreases, the college' accreditor, by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), issued the college a "show-cause order" requiring the college to prove compliance with its accreditation standards by August 1 or have its accreditation withdrawn.
Beaver Local High School is a public high school near East Liverpool, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Beaver Local School District, and serves the communities of Calcutta, Lake Tomahawk, and Rogers in southeastern Columbiana County, as well as parts of surrounding Elkrun, Madison, Middleton, and St. Clair townships. Athletic teams compete as the Beaver Local Beavers in the Ohio High School Athletic Association as a member of the Buckeye 8 Athletic League as well as the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.
Brookfield Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 8,447 people in the township.
Hodges University is a private university in Fort Myers, Florida. Founded in 1990 in Naples as International College, it was renamed Hodges University in 2007 in recognition of a $12 million donation from local residents Earl and Thelma Hodges. In August 2023, citing declining enrollment and ensuing financial challenges, Hodges University announced plans to close permanently by the end of August 2024.
The University System of Ohio is the public university system of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is governed by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Unlike other state university systems outside Ohio such as the University of California System, Ohio's university system operates without blanket names of its members or de jure flagship institutions. Instead, each member markets itself along its own perceived excellences. Four of its main campuses are considered national universities: Ohio, Miami, Cincinnati, and OSU.
Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education ("NOCHE") is a nonprofit business and higher education collaborative in a 23-county region of Northeast Ohio. NOCHE's member institutions of higher education include a cross section of public, private, two-year and four-year schools. Collectively, these institutions enroll more than 226,000 degree-seeking students from across the United States and the world and grant more than 35,000 certificates and degrees annually.
Joseph L. Schiavoni is an American politician and judge who served as a member of the Ohio Senate and Ohio Senate Minority Leader. A member of the Democratic Party, Schiavoni was elected in 2020 to serve as a Judge in the Mahoning County, Ohio Court System.
The Youngstown State Penguins football team represents Youngstown State University in American college football. Youngstown State currently plays as a member of the NCAA at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Penguins have played their home games in Stambaugh Stadium, more commonly called "The Ice Castle," since 1982.
Louis "Lou" Gentile is an American politician formerly serving as the senator for the 30th District of the Ohio Senate. He was also previously a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving briefly in 2011 prior to his appointment to the Senate. His district is one of the largest in Ohio, stretching from Carrollton, Ohio to Athens, Ohio and encompassing much of the Ohio Valley. Gentile served as Assistant Minority Whip in the Ohio Senate. He is a Democrat. Gentile lost his 2016 Senate re-election bid to Frank Hoagland.
Randy J. Dunn was most recently the president of Southern Illinois University. He formerly served as president of Youngstown State University and Murray State University. Both of his previous presidential terms ended in controversy. Dunn submitted his resignation as the president of Southern Illinois University on July 13, 2018 amidst controversial actions within the university's system.
The University of Antelope Valley (UAV) was a private, for-profit university in Lancaster, California. It offered master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees as well as certificate programs and continuing education courses. The university had been accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, but it was placed on accreditation probation in 2023 for failing to meet several of the accreditor's standards following the university's 2022 purchase by Genius Group Limited, a Singaporean technology group. As of early 2024, the university was in a state of collapse. On February 29, 2024, the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education ordered the university to cease all operations by Friday, March 8, 2024 due to its "severe financial position."