OHIO Board of Trustees engaged with students to learn more about OHIO’s experiential learning opportunities, received preliminary census enrollment updates at October meeting

The Ohio University Board of Trustees learned more about the numerous experiential learning opportunities that are available across the University from those who know them best – OHIO students – during their scheduled October 17 meeting on the Athens Campus. They also received the latest census enrollment update from Vice President for Enrollment Management Candace J. Boeninger. 

Additionally, Chief Information Officer Chris Ament shared a presentation that dove deeper into how OHIO is continuing to assess and further modernize its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) capabilities, which play a vital role in numerous cross-campus functions including human resources, finance and student administration. He discussed how this assessment is the first phase of a multi-phase approach to evaluating, selecting, and eventually implementing a new digital ecosystem to support core university functions and modernize how Ohio University works to support the student, employee and community experience.

President Lori Stewart Gonzalez also shared in her President’s report funding success within the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, including how the college received an $8 million Biomedical Research Facilities Construction Grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund a portion of the new Heritage Translational Research Center, as well as how the Heritage College earned the number one spot in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among osteopathic schools for fiscal year 2024.

She also highlighted key points from last week’s State of the University address, including updates to Dynamic Strategy.

Additional highlights from the Oct. 2024 Board of Trustees meetings included:

Experiential learning opportunities
The Board heard from Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Donald Leo and current OHIO students Alyssa Cruz (Journalism and Spanish), Christopher Lawrence-White (Engineering), Grace Vance (Biological Sciences) and William Zanotelli (Business) about the impact and opportunity that OHIO’s experiential learning activities offer both on and off campus, and how they are furthering their skills and career. The four students shared their personal experiences from the transformative internships they’ve had and how those opportunities are shaping their professional pathways. They also shared how OHIO’s curriculum has supported their experiences.

Dr. Leo also shared the university’s definition of experiential learning, the various types of experiential learning opportunities available and how it correlates to OHIO’s ongoing Dynamic Strategy process.

Enrollment update
Vice President for Enrollment Management Candace J. Boeninger provided an enrollment update to the Board, highlighting the preliminary census enrollment for fall 2024 across Ohio University’s campuses, centers and modalities, as well as the significant growth in the Athens retention rate – the highest the University has seen since 2002.

She attributed the growth in retention to successful graduation planning, experiential learning opportunities, the work of faculty in the classroom, programming and support offered by the Division of Student Affairs, among other factors.

According to Boeninger, as of the Sept. 9 census date, OHIO’s total headcount enrollment had grown to 29,625 students, up 4.6% above fall 2023 census. During her presentation, she also discussed how growth in total enrollment was bolstered by strong gains in Athens first-year retention rates, rising to 84.1% for the record fall 2023 entering class and how OHIO welcomed another large, well- qualified first-year class in fall 2024, with 4,345 freshmen enrolled in Athens.

In addition, the Board learned about how gains in Regional Higher Education enrollment and significant gains in online undergraduate enrollment contributed to total enrollment success at census as well. Boeninger also provided an update on graduate enrollment and noted how the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine crossed the four-digit enrollment mark at 1,007.

Other highlights she discussed included the success of the President’s Opportunity Promise and the Regional Promise in making access to an OHIO education more available for Pell-eligible students, as well as how OHIO saw a record 4-year graduation rate (since at least 1990) of 53.4% and a six- year graduation rate of 66.4%.

Boeninger also discussed Enrollment Management’s FY25 priorities, including Dynamic Strategy implementation, continuing to monitor the FAFSA Simplification and looking at capacity, as well as how we can continue to elevate the reputation of the University.

Community Standards update
The Board received a Community Standards update from Kathy Fahl, dean of students, and Dr. Scott J. Bye, assistant dean of students and director of Community Standards and Student Responsibility. Bye discussed a summary of the most common student infractions, as well as updated student experience data, student conduct trends and office achievements.

He highlighted how there has been exceptionally positive feedback from students, that nearly 98% of students took responsibility for their behavior and chose to resolve their case via a Community Standards Conference, how housing handbook and failure to comply violations have decreased over the year and how revised sanctioning guidelines will better allow the office to meet the changing needs of students, among other things.

FY24 Year-end Results and Financial Update
Interim Vice President for Finance & Administration and CFO Dr. John Day provided the Board with an update of the FY24 year-end financial results and the FY25 budget. In addition, he provided a summary of the completed Series 24 Bond Issuance for the Housing project and information about possible budget impacts related to the proposed change to the minimum salary threshold under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). 

Capital Projects 
The Board approved two new capital projects, including:

• Bush Airport Zero Hangar Renovation - The Board approved a resolution to renovate the Bush Airport Zero Hangar, including replacement of the roof, siding, and doors. This $2.5 million project is funded by external grant funding.
• Chubb Hall Window Replacement – The Board approved the replacement of the windows in Chubb Hall. This $1.4 million project is funded by state capital appropriations.

In other business, the Board also approved:

• The 2024 financial statement audit resolution.
• A resolution to review the following centers and institutes: the Center for Intervention Research in Schools in the College of Arts and Sciences; the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine; the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology; the Ohio Research Institute for Transportation and the Environment in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology; the Appalachian Institute to Advance Health Equity Science in the College of Health Sciences and Professions; the Contemporary History Institute which will be moved to the College of Arts and Sciences from Research, the Institute for Applied and Professional Ethics which will move to academic review; the Charles J. Ping Institute for the Teaching of the Humanities which will move to academic review; the Ohio Valley Center for Collaborative Arts (CoArts) which will move to academic review; and the Edison Biotechnology Institute which will move the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
• A resolution to approve the program review of the Interdisciplinary Arts program in the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts.
• A resolution to execute an easement to American Electric Power Company for a new electric distribution line on the east side of Health Center Dr. in Athens, Ohio.
• A resolution to amend resolution 2024-4130 approving land exchange of approximately 0.23 acres with Ohio University Employees Credit Union. The resolution will increase the University property exchange to 0.261 acres.
• A resolution to designate certain vacant land at The Ridges as surplus property for The Ridges Condominium Association.