Posted: 3:51 p.m.Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015

3 Butler County higher educationinstitutions outline collaboration

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

Insteadof competing for students, officials at three local higher educationinstitutions said they’re collaborating to offer residents additional optionsthat will raise their earning potential.

Representativesfrom Butler Tech’s adult education, Cincinnati State Middletown and Miami University’sbranch campuses spoke Thursday morning during a State of Higher Education luncheon. Their message wasclear and consistent throughout their presentations: After graduating from highschool, students need to obtain industry credentials or attend a two- orfour-year degree, all available locally.

Theysaid Butler County is unique because students haveall these opportunities in their backyards.

KellyCowan, interim president of Cincinnati State Middletown, spent more than 20years at Miami University. She said there was a timewhen there were “gaps” in education locally, but now every resident has accessto job training or higher education to prepare them for the “next level intheir lives.”

Cincinnati Statehosts about 120 Middletown High School students who attend Middie State.Cowan called this “an extremely exciting collaboration” between the college andMiddletown City Schools District and hopes those high school students continuetheir education nearby at Cincinnati State.

Shealso said, as soon as next fall, Cincinnati State Middletown will offer a culinaryschool, and students will take their first year of classes in Middletown and earn their food safetycertification. After that they probably will transfer to Cincinnati Statebecause of it offers $12 million in kitchen facilities to prepare its studentsfor the full-service food industry.

Cowanalso said Cincinnati State will start offering a shuttle service for Middletownstudents who want to take classes at the Cincinnati State Clifton location. Shesaid 75 percent of Middletownstudents surveyed said they would take a shuttle if a service was available.

GaryCates, vice chancellor of the Department of Higher Learning, said he recentlytoured Marion, Ohio,located about 40 miles north of Columbus, with asimilar population as Hamilton and Middletown. There, hesaid, Harding High School is beginning a “diploma plus acceptance” programwhere every graduate will be expected to know their “next pathway” before theywalk across the stage at graduation, whether that’s acceptance into adulteducation, a two- or four-year college or university, an apprenticeship or themilitary.

Hebelieves the program shows “great promise” and expects other districts aroundthe state to adopt a similar program if it’s successful.

Gatessaid research has shown that households with higher educations earn higherwages and have a lower unemployment rate. He thanked those higher educationrepresentatives for being “change agents” in the community.

Thenhe added: “We got to change the way we deliver our product.”

RickPearce, president of the Chamber serving Middletown,Monroe and Trenton,said if all the institutions have the ability to serve as “huge economicengines” for the region.

Tomeet the changing needs of the region, MUM will offer 10 new degree programsbetween 2016 and 2018, said Michael Pratt, dean of regional campuses.

Hesaid since 2013, MUM has recruited international students, mainly those from China. He saidthat program had 38 students enrolled in 2013 and more than 300 this year. Hesaid while students at MUM may be unable to take courses in China, international students can be brought to Middletown.

KristinaReed, marketing director at Butler Tech, said the center specializes inbusiness and industry, public safety, healthcare, human resource developmentand assessments. Those courses range from two weeks to 13 months, she said.

Shesaid over a five-year period 93 percent of the students at Butler Tech find jobplacement after graduation.

“Ourstudents succeed,” she said.