By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - Colleges and universities in Ohio are making strides in increasing the number of residents participating in higher education, but state aid per student is below national averages.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Ohio Board of Regents released its fourth annual performance report on higher education in the state Thursday. Here are highlights: • Ohio's higher education institutions enrolled 589,138 students in fall 2002, an 8.3 percent increase over fall 1998. Community and technical colleges grew the fastest, from 137,160 to 162,176 students, or 18.2 percent.. • Half of all credit hours earned by first-year undergraduate students were taught by full-time faculty members; 39 percent were taught by part-time faculty and 12 percent were taught by graduate students. • College attendance patterns are changing. It is less common for students to attend only one school before they complete a degree. Twenty-three percent of undergraduates enrolled in spring 2002 had been enrolled at another campus or institution within the three previous years. During the same term, 6 percent of undergraduates were concurrently enrolled at multiple campuses or schools. • Fifty-five percent of first-year full-time students who began college in fall 1996 at an Ohio public university earned a bachelor's degree in six years. At the state's most selective public institutions, the six-year graduation rate exceeded 80 percent. At schools with the most open admissions policies, the rate was 37 percent compared to the national rate of 34 percent. • Ohio retains 79 percent of its overall resident graduates. The retention rate is 88 percent for those who earn associate degrees; 77 percent for those who earn bachelor's degrees and 80 percent for those who earn master's degrees. • Read the full report

That conclusion comes from thefourth annual performance report released Thursday by the Ohio Board of Regents.

Lawmakers and educators have begun to digest the contents of the 70-page summary, poring over data on topics ranging from enrollment trends to preparation level of students to state expenditures.

"Many of our peer agencies in other states view Ohio's performance report as a model for what they should examine and report on in their states," said Roderick Chu, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

"At a time when our campuses are working to get the most benefit from scarce resources, data and analysis like that provided in this report are extremely valuable."

The report clearly laid out the financial issues both the state and Ohio families are facing.

In fiscal year 2002, Ohio's total government appropriations per student were $8,580, about 5 percent less than the national level of $8,992.

The state ranks 44th in the nation in appropriations per student. While U.S. families pay on average 31 percent of a child's college costs, Ohio families pay 48 percent, the report said.

But the report also provided demographic details about who's going to college in Ohio, where they attend, whether they graduate and how many stay in Ohio after commencement.

Ohio students may struggle when they first arrive on campus. Of first-time, full-time freshman, 37 percent take at least one remedial course in math or English during their first year, higher than the national average of 35 percent.

At University of Cincinnati, the region's largest campus, about 43 percent of incoming students need some form of remedial course work, according to the report. UC officials say they recognize the importance of identifying these students and helping them move from remedial work to courses that count for college credit.

"The University of Cincinnati realizes that remediation is valuable only in that it leads to graduation," said UC spokesman Greg Hand.

"We have created the Center for Access and Transition (CAT) to identify students who need remedial work and to bring them up to speed so they can move into a baccalaureate program and on to graduation as soon as possible."

Over the past five years, statewide production of associate, bachelor's and master's degrees as well as professional and doctoral degrees increased 5 percent, from 90,400 to 94,972.

Colleges and universities have also improved in research, an area in which Ohio has tried to catch up to successes reported by other states, Abel said. According to the National Science Foundation, total research and development expenditures at Ohio colleges and universities for fiscal year 2001 reached $983 million.

UC contributed $193 million to that bottom line.

E-mail kgoetz@enquirer.com