MANSFIELD — The Mid-Biennium Budget Review Bill (HB 474), currently working through the legislature in Columbus, is of particular interest to North Central State College.
There are numerous portions of the bill which should help continue momentum on numerous effective programs which we have worked hard to implement and lead here in north central Ohio.
COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS
College Credit Plus allows students in middle school and high school the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses while enrolled in their K-12 school. The students need to be college ready, and maintain an acceptable grade point average in their college-level coursework.
At NC State, we have seen the numbers of CCP students increase to more than 1,000 in just three years. Students are earning college credit for free before they graduate from high school. On average, students who participate in CCP are graduating with 14 credit hours that they can transfer to college anywhere in the state of Ohio.
Recently, we implemented Tuition Freedom Scholarships for every eligible student who participates in College Credit Plus. By meeting tuition Freedom guidelines (utilizing Pell grant first, going full time, maintaining a 2.5 GPA), each student will be offered up to 64 college credits tuition free.
That’s enough hours to complete an associate degree to prepare for a rewarding career, or transfer two years of credit toward an advanced degree.
“3+1” PATHWAY AGREEMENTS
North Central State College currently has 3+1 agreements with Franklin University, Miami University and The Ohio State University at Mansfield.
Each of these agreements allow NC state graduates to complete a third year of instruction at NC State’s tuition cost, saving even more money. The final year, students enroll at Franklin, Miami or Ohio State, and graduate with their Bachelor’s Degree from that institution, saving up to 80 percent of the cost of attending the four-year institution full-time.
HB 474 will expand this effort to define pathways from community colleges to bachelor’s degrees.
Bringing these programs to scale on a statewide basis would provide a wide-range of majors and make these opportunities fully accessible and well-known to students and their families.
In addition to CCP and 3+1 programs, which are already providing opportunity to thousands of students locally, the MBR also includes new ideas which we believe will further enhance the service we can provide students as a community college in the state of Ohio.
BACHELOR’S DEGREES
As evidenced by the success of 3+1 programs, Community Colleges are very close to offering all of the courses needed to complete a bachelor’s degree. HB 474 will allow Community Colleges to offer up to 10 bachelor’s degrees which mirror the needs of the community and its workforce.
These offerings will be closely tied to the availability of jobs in a given region. Each bachelor’s program will be approved by the Chancellor to assure that it meets the evolving needs of the community.
Piloting Remediation with local high schools
By allowing NC State to partner with local school districts to offer a remedial course to high school seniors and enabling them to earn college credit for successful course completion, we will better prepare students for success at the collegiate level.
In closing, I commend Governor Kasich and the legislature for continuing to build on a balanced approach that provides multiple pathways to earning a degree that best fits a student’s needs. At the same time, these common sense programs will continue to help control the spiraling cost of higher education, savings students and their families tens of thousands of dollars.
That is the overarching story of community colleges, to provide quality affordable higher education and training which leads to great career, and transfer credits that allow students to reduce the amount of debt required to achieve their educational goals. North Central State College has been providing these services to the residents of north central Ohio since 1969.
We look forward to expanding our role as we provide additional services that meet the changing needs of our students, our employers, and our community.
Please contact me if you have any questions about HB 474 and the Mid-Biennium Review, and the potential benefits to north central Ohio.
Dr. Dorey Diab is President of North Central State College
