“And then to actually see that the governor recognizes the need, and that something that’s happening in states across the country could also happen in Ohio; that certainly is wonderful to us,” she told the Journal-News in a recent interview. “It opens up new opportunity. So we’re excited and pleased, and we’re busy as well.”
In January, Kasich’s administration rolled out a series of higher education plans he wants to see lawmakers support this year for Ohio’s 37 colleges, of which 23 are community colleges. And allowing community colleges to offer four-year degrees is something 19 other states already do.
The need to offer this option to students is because “we recognize now that there is something beyond just the associates degree as we look at the needs in our communities, in our industries,” said Posey.
“(Community colleges in other states) have used this as a way to compliment what the four-year institutions do, not to compete,” she said. “…[I]t’s probably based on what those particular communities have a need for and the ability to match employer interest with the options that the schools can address.”
To move forward, the conversation must begin with employers and four-year institutions, which Cincinnati State has articulation agreements with the University of Cincinnati in Hamilton County and Miami University in Butler County. Finding the right niches and market options are important, but Posey said they’d want to “also work with potential students because it’s about making college affordable for them, making it convenient for them and if we put the right package together, we know over time we’ll be on the mark in meeting those particular goals.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is an outspoken supporter of the community college model, and though he hasn’t studied the governor’s proposal, he “like(s) the direction he wants to go in.” However, how this plan is going to be paid for is the question.
“I think, unfortunately, that state legislature has fallen far, far short on funding higher education,” Brown said. “That’s one reason for the whole student loans, student debt (issue). I think they need to work that out. I like the direction he wants to go in, but I think they need to figure out the cost of higher ed, which is maybe part of this because community colleges are less expensive.”
The state’s other U.S. Senator, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said though he doesn’t have the specifics of Kasich’s plan, “I think it’s really good to give our community colleges more flexibility.”
“We’ve got a terrific network; I’ve been to most of them and have had the opportunity to work with them on worker retraining a lot,” Portman said. “Our legislation that we introduced, most of which passed last year, really came from Ohio community colleges and the good work that they’re doing.”
Additionally, he said he would support the “maximum flexibility possible” Ohio can give the state’s community colleges.
Officials with Sinclair Community College, which is based in Dayton but has branch campuses in Preble and Warren counties, anticipate the school’s board of trustees to provide direction on studying the feasibility of offering four-year degree programs. However, Ohio Chancellor John Carey said last month at Sinclair that the school’s president was the first community college president to approach the Ohio Board of Regents about the idea.
“The leadership actually came from two-year institutions (and) four-year institutions to get this done,” Carey said last month at Sinclair’s Dayton campus. “Again, it follows the theme of student affordability — what’s best for the student.”
And Dr. O’dell Owens, president of the Cincinnati State, said Kasich’s initiative will keep money in the pocket of the students.
“Governor Kasich’s provisions to allow community colleges like Cincinnati State to offer bachelor’s degrees in specialized programs that aren’t being offered by local colleges and universities, expand the options for students who want a career-focused degree at a lower cost, without taking on a lot of debt,” he said. “This is good for employers, students and ensures that local public colleges and universities are working together for the benefit of the community.”
The Ohio Association of Community College spokesman Jeff Ortega said this came out of a cooperation with the state’s university and community college leaders.
“It’s been a very contentious situation in many other states where this has occurred,” he said, “but if this would come to pass it would do so without any contention.”
Ortega said in “very limited circumstances” — which the deal is for universities within a 30-mile radius to have the right of first refusal to offer new baccalaureate programs — this would “provide for a very good compliment to the great educational choices that are out there.”
Posey said even though community college model is a less expensive option, the school would have to research the cost “because it certainly would involve advanced-level courses, could potentially some advanced-level labs.”
Michael Geoghegan, Cincinnati State’s finance director, said the school’s current in-state per credit hour rate is $148.64, and that rate is doubled for out-of-state students (unless there is a reciprocal agreement with an out-of-state school, then the cost is the same as the in-state rate). The last tuition hike for Cincinnati State was for fiscal year 2015, which was about a 2.3 percent increase for students taking a full load, which is at least 12 credit hours.
“Our goal is to move beyond the traditional, to see how we can expand and reach out and do more for our communities and to listen to the voices of the employers and the potential students, and as we do that we’re going to discover some great opportunities,” Posey said.
Types of degrees a community college could offer would be technical and applied degrees, such as for surveying or culinary arts. However, if a four-year institution already offers a baccalaureate in programming offered by the community college, then Posey said, “Our focus then would be just in preparing associate degree students so they can transfer to the university.”
“But if there’s a case where there’s a need, and (our partners) are not interested — maybe they just don’t have the capacity or they’re not able to offer — then we would like to have the discussion,” she said.
Cincinnati State officials have already had some “preliminary talks” about food science as a four-year degree “because there’s growing market for individuals with that knowledge, there are more companies in the southwest Ohio area that are doing food manufacturing, food research and testing that we could prepare graduates for.”
Implementing a four-year degree program for Cincinnati State, Posey said, is just a matter of getting the approvals with the Ohio Board of Regents and begin offering the new program in a matter of months later.
“We could be offering the classes, or start individuals in the pathways toward those degrees right away,” she said. “We have associate’s degrees that we want to articulate to the bachelor’s degree, so some of those pathways are already in discussion. We can begin students pretty quickly.”
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