Central State wins extended accreditation

Central State will be required to submit a monitoring report on its general education program in August 2014, according to the commission.

The accreditation decision, which became official on Oct. 3, comes six months after Central State completed an action plan created by the Ohio Board of Regents to advance the university. The latest update from that plan, which was conducted in May and publicly released by the state this week, shows that the university bridged a $2.9 million revenue shortfall for fiscal year 2013 that resulted from lower-than-expected 2012 enrollment.

Enrollment dropped 14 percent in fall 2012 compared to the previous year, according to the Board of Regents. This fall, it fell nearly 4 percent to 2,068 students, the state reports.

Among actions to bridge the shortfall, the university saved $246,000 with mandatory and voluntarily furloughs; $225,000 through a travel moratorium; $175,000 by renegotiating service contracts for health care, security and housekeeping; $50,000 through reduced overtime; along with others, according to the report.

Central State will also cut its annual utility costs $1 million through a project this year. The report also said the school is finalizing a low interest loan, which will provide $12.2 million to “buy down” two recently developed residential halls, to bring in $500,000 annually in revenue from student fees and $1.6 million to refinance existing debt to save $206,000 in interest, according to the report.

It also details that Central State’s most appropriate student enrollment is 2,200 to 2,700 students; how the university offered scholarships to 53 percent of students it admitted compared to 35 percent last year; and how its course completion rate rose to 78 percent after the university began requiring students meet with their advisers.

The report says the next step for Central State is to review its policies and practices to ensure it is getting an appropriate return on its investments, including increasing the use of campus facilities for conferences and other events.