97-01-22 Articulation with Columbus State Enhanced

OHIO STATE RENEWS, ENHANCES AGREEMENT WITH COLUMBUS STATE

     COLUMBUS -- Transferring to The Ohio State University just 
became even easier for students attending Columbus State 
Community College.  

     In a ceremony Wednesday (1/22) on the campus of Columbus 
State, E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State, and M. Valeriana 
Moeller, president of Columbus State, signed an agreement that 
enhances and replaces a 1989 articulation document with the 
school.  The agreement, the first of its kind in Ohio, expands 
University access and success for transfer students.  

     Articulation agreements permit students to more easily 
transfer by spelling out which community college courses will be 
accepted for credit and will apply to degree requirements at Ohio 
State. They provide students with the flexibility to transfer 
after a course, a quarter or two, or a year or two of community 
college study.

     The enhanced agreement offers two new options that allow 
Columbus State students to make a more seamless connection 
between Columbus State and Ohio State. 

     An admissions guarantee assures admission to Ohio State for 
all students who have earned the Associate of Arts (AA) or 
Associate of Science (AS) degree.  These students can compete 
on an equal basis with current Ohio State students for access 
to selective programs such as business and engineering.

     A dual degree provision allows transfer students from 
Columbus State the opportunity to use their Ohio State credits to 
earn both a bachelors degree and a Columbus State associate 
degree without returning to Columbus State.  This also provides 
associate degree completion opportunities for the Columbus 
State transfer student who finds it necessary to interrupt 
their university enrollment.

     "This agreement secures another important linkage between 
Ohio State and Columbus State," Gee said.  "It is a partnership 
which broadens opportunities for all central Ohio students by 
enabling a smooth transition from Columbus State to Ohio State."  

     "This renewed and enhanced agreement sends a clear message 
to the students, faculty and staff at our respective institutions 
and to the central Ohio community that we are working together to 
ensure access to higher education," said Moeller.

     Tom Schriner, associate director of admissions at Ohio 
State, and David Hockenbery, dean of Arts and Sciences at 
Columbus State, worked for more than a year with counterparts and 
faculty at Columbus State and Ohio State to develop this enhanced 
agreement.  He says the agreement should increase degree 
completion rates and remove some student anxieties about the 
timing of their transfer.  "We recognize that most students 
transfer prior to completion of the Associate of Arts or 
Associate of Science degree.  The dual degree provision provides 
multiple options for degree completion at Columbus State, Ohio 
State, or both.  While the admissions guarantee encourages 
associate degree completion, the dual degree provision responds 
with options students can use if their circumstances or goals 
change.  The agreement empowers students in the transfer 
process."  

     As an integral part of the agreement, Transfer Counselor 
Handbooks have been prepared for staff at the community college 
to use in advising students about course election and planning 
for their future move to the university. The handbooks relate 
community college courses directly to university degree 
requirements.  They will be updated continuously as the 
institutions revise their curricula and degree requirements.  
They also contain pre-admission information and a resource 
directory of academic, financial and social support services.

     Articulation agreements are based on the principles of the 
Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policy adopted by the Ohio Board 
of Regents, which encourages cooperation among state supported 
colleges and universities.  

     Ohio State signed its first community college articulation 
agreement in 1989 with Columbus State. Since the original 
agreement was signed, 2,942 Columbus State students have 
transferred to Ohio State to complete their bachelor's degree.

     Ohio State has since developed articulation agreements with 
Cuyahoga Community College, Lakeland Community College, Lorain 
County Community College, Clark State Community College and 
Sinclair Community College. 

                            #

Contact: Tom Schriner, associate director of admissions at Ohio 
State, (614) 292-5995.


[Submitted by: Von Vargas  (vargas.12@osu.edu)
               
Wed, 22 Jan 1997 15:00:29 -0500 (EST)]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.