In a survey released this morning by Scioto Analysis, economists were split about the impact of Senate Bill 1, which adds regulations to Ohio’s public colleges and universities. Some of the most notable changes are the elimination of DEI trainings, a new requirement for students to study American Civics, and the elimination of undergraduate degrees with very few students.
Five economists agreed that these changes would reduce long-term enrollment in Ohio’s colleges and universities while seven disagreed, and six were uncertain. As Charles Kroncke from Mount Saint Joseph noted: “Many choose public universities because of cost and major, not political ideology.” Conversely, Bill LaFayette said this was “one of many initiatives of the General Assembly telegraphing that Ohio is an unwelcoming state.”
Similarly, nine economists agreed that these changes would lead to a less educated state work force in the long-run, while five disagreed and four were uncertain. Will Georgic from Ohio Wesleyan agreed, writing “If enrollment in state public universities falls in the long run then those missing students will either attend in-state private institutions or out-of-state institutions. Graduates of both types of schools would be less likely to permanently reside in Ohio than graduates of Ohio's public universities, so lower long-run enrollment directly leads to a less educated state workforce.” Conversely, Kevan Egan from the University of Toledo wrote: “Everyone still needs 120 credit hours to graduate so the same quantity of "education". Any topic can be discussed from the perspective of science with hypotheses IF this is done THEN this happens. This is science. No one is saying what we SHOULD do. Our role as educators is to inform students how the world IS. They can then be more informed about how they think the world SHOULD be such as changes to policy.”
The Ohio Economic Experts Panel is a panel of over 30 Ohio Economists from over 30 Ohio higher educational institutions conducted by Scioto Analysis. The goal of the Ohio Economic Experts Panel is to promote better policy outcomes by providing policymakers, policy influencers, and the public with the informed opinions of Ohio’s leading economists. Individual responses to all surveys can be found here.