Embattled Eastern Gateway Community College pausing enrollment amid investigation
Eastern Gateway Community College is pausing registrations and enrollment beyond this spring semester.
The college's board of trustees approved the decision through a resolution at a special meeting Wednesday. In a press release from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the decision was made to provide an opportunity for Eastern Gateway "to evaluate options to resolve ongoing financial difficulties partly due to delayed federal funding."
“We have a plan to ensure students finish this semester as normal,” said Jim Gasior, chair of Eastern Gateway’s Board of Trustees.
ODHE officials said this decision doesn't mean the college is closing, and students scheduled to graduate this semester won’t be affected by the pause.
Why is Eastern Gateway under investigation?
In January, officials from the auditor's office, U.S. Secret Service agents, and state and local law enforcement officers conducted a search warrant at Eastern Gateway as part of an investigation into "matters of financial irregularities" at the college, Auditor Keith Faber said at the time.
Eastern Gateway, a two-year community college in Steubenville, has been in financial straits.
The college asked state lawmakers in December for a $12 million advance on state funds to help it meet payroll, which the state Controlling Board aprpoved.
The ask comes after Eastern Gateway ended a popular program that provided free college for 20,000 students last year. The U.S. Department of Education had ordered the college to halt enrollment over a possible violation of federal law over how it pays for students to attend classes.
Eastern Gateway, established in 1968, serves students from Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning and Trumbull counties and has campuses in Steubenville and Youngstown.
What will happen to current Eastern Gateway students?
Gasior said Youngstown State University and several community colleges in the region have offered to welcome Eastern Gateway students, provide continuity and allow students to continue their studies "as seamlessly as possible for their next semester."
Youngstown State University is working with Eastern Gateway and ODHE to ensure academically eligible students are able to enroll at YSU or collaborating community colleges to complete their degrees as "backup plans."
“Student access to high-quality and affordable educational experiences and workforce advancement opportunities that contribute to economic mobility have long been pillars of our mission at YSU,” said Youngstown State President Bill Johnson. “This arrangement is well aligned with those pillars and we look forward to serving the students and employers across the region now and into the future.”
Ohio community colleges that will enroll Eastern Gateway students include Belmont College, Cuyahoga Community College, Hocking College, Stark State College and Washington State College of Ohio. Youngstown State will coordinate with ODHE to advise Eastern Gateway students on the best pathway to continue their education.
All involved colleges will work to honor credits earned by students and help students through the transfer process, ODHE said.
“This is a period of change in higher education, and it requires increased collaboration among our colleges," said ODHE Chancellor Mike Duffey.
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
shendrix@dispatch.com
@sheridan120
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Eastern Gateway Community College halts enrollment during investigation
