Photo provided by: Warren Scott
Eastern Gateway Community College’s main campus is listed in Steubenville.
With funding running out, members of Eastern Gateway Community College’s board of trustees have indicated the school’s days are numbered.
After Wednesday’s meeting, trustees said EGCC must be dissolved by May 31 unless a significant influx of cash comes in, but the school’s relationship with the U.S. Department of Education is strained. , that is unlikely given that millions of dollars in student aid cash repayments are also delayed. Like in November, when a tough board of trustees asked the state board of trustees for a multi-million cash advance to get them through the spring semester.
Since then, administrative offices have been raided, numerous records and computers have been seized, and, under pressure from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the Board of Trustees announced last month that EGCC administrators will attempt to make amends after the spring semester. It was announced that admissions would be “temporarily suspended.” ship.
“I am heartbroken to learn of the final outcome of the actions taken by the Eastern Gateway Community College Board of Trustees yesterday,” John Crooks, interim president of the embattled school, said Thursday. Stated. “The reason is that we were unable to resolve the financial problems caused by withholding payments to students we enrolled and educated who were subject to reimbursement programs by the U.S. Department of Education. We will continue to work with the (DOE) to resolve the issue.”
Jim Collin, president of the EGCC Education Association, said members were not ready to comment on the possibility of dissolution, but said his assessment was that “overall, the reality is settling in.”
“I think for our faculty and staff, there will be an opportunity to hopefully get a job at Youngstown State University,” Collin said. “The YSU brand will be located in Jefferson County, which will be a huge draw for the Pittsburgh region, West Virginia and that region of Ohio.
“If there is one silver lining, it is the opportunities it will provide for the residents and students of Jefferson County.”
As of Thursday afternoon, an EGCC spokesperson could not confirm reports that the school was withdrawing from the Higher Education Commission’s accreditation process. The university has been on the HLC’s probation list for more than two years and had until November to correct deficiencies.
