Posted: 4:16 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014

Cincinnati State Middletown offers grants to start new career

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/chelsey-levingston/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

    First-time students who enroll at Cincinnati State Middletown for spring semester next year will be automatically eligible for up to $500 in grants, according to the college.

    Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is offering the new grant program to entice students to sign up for classes at its Middletown branch campus, which opened in 2012 at 1 N. Main St.

    The Middletown New Career Grant is funded by Higher Education Partners, which helped develop the Butler County branch campus, said Jean Manning, spokeswoman for Cincinnati State. A total $50,000 has been set aside to pay the grants, Manning said.

New students and grant recipients can use the money to pay for tuition, books, supplies, bus passes and other costs of attending classes, Manning said.

    “It’s to encourage obviously those students who perhaps didn’t finish their education or they finished high school and have been out for a year and working,” she said. “This is to encourage them to come back and complete their degree.”

    The amount of the grant depends upon the number of Middletown credit hours that students take: the full $500 for 12 or more credit hours; $375 for 9 credit hours; or $250 for 6 credit hours.

    These are the requirements to meet: Students must be a first-time student at Cincinnati State, they must be enrolled in a Middletown degree or certificate program; and they must take classes at the Middletown Campus during the Spring 2015 Semester.

    Prospective students are advised to apply as soon as possible, said David Beeman, also a Cincinnati State spokesman. Classes begin January 12.

    “They need to take the first step and apply,” Beeman said.

    Currently, about 600 students attend classes in Middletown, with more local area students enrolled in courses online, Beeman said.

    Cincinnati State Middletown offers 28 associate’s degree and certificate programs that can be fully completed in Middletown. Students can start other programs in Middletown and transfer to the main Clifton campus. Additionally, a new certificate program is being offered in Middletown next semester to learn to be a medical assistant, Beeman said.