Stephanie Irwin Gottschlich writes about higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2008 > March > 31 > Entry
Master plan for Ohio colleges released
The 10-year master plan for Ohio’s public colleges and universities was delivered to Governor Ted Strickland on Monday that details strategies for the Governor’s mandate that Ohio’s colleges increase the number of Ohioans with degrees by 230,000 in the next decade.
The plan takes a consumer-friendly approach, saying the state will offer many educational options to students who can then choose the best programs at the best price to meet their needs.
One of the plan’s main goals is to make available high-quality associate and bachelor’s degree programs in core fields to students within 30 miles of their home, using the infrastructure of the state’s 47 community colleges and regional branch campuses. Community colleges will be linked through policies and a database that will enable each school to offer programs from the other schools. The first associates degree available to the entire state will be available this fall, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut said in a press conference this morning in Columbus.
All colleges and universities will join the national Voluntary System of Accountability, a voluntary initiative for 4-year public colleges and universities to demonstrate public accountability by measuring students’ outcomes and making information about their institutions accessible, understandable and comparable to consumers. About 225 institutions around the country participate in the system.
Ohio’s institutions will make available to students and their families data regarding price, financial aid, degree programs, retention and graduation rates, campus safety, student satisfaction and student learning outcomes. Two-year institutions will participate in a similar national initiative for community colleges.
The information will be available in an “Ohio College Portrait,” which will show campuses’ progress in 20 performance metrics in real time on a “dashboard” at the University System of Ohio website.
Keep reading for a summary of some of the changes to Ohio’s system.
Some of the changes to Ohio’s system include:
Institutions will be able to set their own tuition at their main campuses, but that authority is contingent on their ability to offer need-based financial aid to all qualified students. The Chancellor will be establishing guidelines for need-based aid, and sharing those with the general assembly prior to the adoption of biennial budget.
High school graduates can be dual-admitted into a community college and university at the same time to shorten the time and reduce the cost of completing a degree.
Programs at adult workforce centers that are equivalent to technical programs at community colleges will now be accepted for college credit. Adult learning centers around the state will offer college-prep courses to adult workers to prepare them to re-enter higher education.
Drop-outs - students who don’t graduate high school by their 18th birthdays - will be aggressively recruited into a special program to complete their diplomas and prepare them for college.
Institutions will be integrated into a single technology infrastructure where students can apply for Ohio colleges and register at multiple institutions.
An Ohio Skills Bank will start measuring the demand for jobs in Ohio’s 12 economic development regions against the supply of students and programs available, adjusting the programs to address shortages.
Ohio will establish a center for studying how to help African American men succeed in college to help create a more diverse workforce. Private schools will share the cost of recruiting international students wth public schools to increase that diversity.
Schools will be expected to be increasingly efficient, and the chancellor will recommend to the general assembly every year new efficiency targets. Eventually, state support to the institutions should be increased to the national average, Fingerhut said.
The plan does not include much involvement with private colleges, only stating that they will be encouraged to participate in the state’s credit transfer system.
The University System of Ohio, created through a directive of Governor Strickland, consists of 13 public universities, 1 medical college, 24 regional branch campuses, 23 community colleges, as well as adult literacy and adult workforce centers.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: Higher education politics, University System of Ohio
Comments
By Rich
March 31, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
Bravo, Gov. Strickland, Eric Fingerhut and company. This appears to be a common-sense plan, based on the sketchy details presented here. I have to expect that the majority of resistance, if any, to this plan will come from individual state universities who will fear loss of autonomy and “prestige” when forced to cooperate with “lesser” institutions around the state.By Nocha
March 31, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this
They need to start letting us go to college for free. We go to gradeschool for free why can t we further our educ for free. Ima college students an these loans aint no joke….By Bocephus
March 31, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
Nocha the “Nincompoop”. There’s no such thing as “free” dummy. Have you ever heard of taxes? Government educated for “free” no doubt. The politicians love ignorant people like Nocha.By Lenny Pepperidge
March 31, 2008 7:46 PM | Link to this
For 140 pages, it was somewhat short on details. It also bent over backwards to try and not offend anyone—even including a glowing little blurb on the first Chancellor of the Board of Regents, John Millett, before spending much of the report undoing his legacy—which is good. Regarding the 4 year universities, it did hit the necessary themes: Elimination of unnecessary graduate programs, different missions for different campuses—i.e. not everybody can try and turn themselves into Ohio State, different funding models based on that institution’s mission and formal recognition of Ohio State as the state’s flagship campus—although they chose to use the term “National Research University.” It’s almost comical in their avoidance of calling Ohio State the “f-word” as if its mere mention would cause the presidents of Miami of Ohio, OU, Akron and the rest’s head to simultaneously explode.By Caroline
April 1, 2008 1:41 AM | Link to this
I don’t understand. They are going to improve the colleges, but at the same time make college accessible to everyone? Not everyone wants to go to college. Why does everyone need a college diploma? How is that going to make Ohians more educated? High school drop outs will be encouraged to go to college? Great. This is another thing to discourage students from bothering to graduate. They can just drop-out and get their GED. Why does it matter if college will be available to all? Seriously. I’m not sure how this is going to enable Ohio to better compete in a global market.By trentmccl
April 1, 2008 9:41 AM | Link to this
Well Caroline, College not only prepares one for the working world by giving them critical thinking skills necessary to achieve greater things than a 7.50 an hour mindless job. College also gives students a chance to figure out who they are by exploring what they are intrested in both academically and socially. Many of my fondest memories are from college. The skills that I have learned in college,not only help me make more informed decisions about my work, but also about my life by looking at all aspects of the situation (something that college gives you is the ability to critically map out a solution that is best for what you are trying to achieve) and not just having knee jerk reactions. It is a proven fact that a more educated worforce brings in higher wage jobs and in turn brings in more taxes for Ohio which = better schools, roads, fire/ems and police. So think twice before having a knee jerk reaction (or maybe sign up for com 101).By Jim 5
April 1, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this
Investing in college education for Ohio is an excellent plan. See what can be done when you get the liberals crying “no fair” out of the way? Now, if only the Ohio Supreme Court can take the funding ball and chain off of public education below the college level.By Caroline
April 1, 2008 6:31 PM | Link to this
I think that it is very important for Ohio to encourage its students to attend college. I do believe that Ohio’s work force needs to be higher educated. I am concerned that Strickland’s plan will “water down” the college classes. College should be accessible to all who want to work for it. I think college is wonderful. trentmccl, I didn’t take com 101 because I comped out of it because my high school offered AP English. It is wonderful to offer students these options. I went to college completely on grants & loans because I grew up in poverty. I have a more comfortable life because I am college educated. So, maybe you want to examine your own “knee jerk” reaction to my comment.By Mary
April 2, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this
I definitely agree with Caroline on the college not for everyone and college being watered down. Read the recent book “Ivory Tower Blues”. I also agree with Bocephus on the “free” concept not really being free. “trentmcll”, I think you are being too kind on how colleges (and schools) develop students socially. Apparently, with today’s college environment a lot become binge drinkers and some die. Class sizes have become large and impersonal. Read the book “Beer and Circus - how big time sports has crippled undergraduate education”.By Leon Harrison
April 2, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this
WSU parents and students, demand that Leon Harrison be immediately appointed as the Director of the Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center! Especially those among you who are passionate about affirmative action and disciples of diversity, if not PC perversity. He will then represent YOU at WSU.By Rick
April 12, 2008 5:30 PM | Link to this
Higher education, including state schools are ripping students off. No one in them is concerned about holding down costs. I believe that most universities should not be research universities, but rather transmit the incredible amount of knowledge we have now. Professors should be selected not by what they have published but rather on how well they can instruct. The accrediting organizations must be stripped of their ability to impose featherbedding.By Chris
April 15, 2008 7:08 PM | Link to this
Education in and of itself is a good thing-that being said, high schools used to prepare people for the work force with skill sets needed by local employers- construction, plumbing, food service, nursing, etc. They were taight how to be a good citizen, the basics of a household, rights and responsibilities, etc.Now colleges are going to do it for way more money.Not everyone needs or wants to be a liberal arts major. Not everyone wants to graduate into a field where it will take 20 years to pay off student loans.we need a more European model of education- only those who can( capable of doing the course work) and want to get a liberal education should- everyone else needs job training.By Chris
April 15, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this
I have returned to sinclair after dropping out of college in 1992. Not everyone is ready to continue on to a four year program. job traing in public high schools should be reinstituted.