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Edison State Remains Responsive to Regional
Needs
Edison State Community College President Dr. Doreen Larson held the
third annual State of the College address Wednesday morning with over
75 business leaders, community members, elected officials, and Edison
State faculty and staff in attendance.
New campus locations and programs, enhanced partnerships, workforce
development, and College Credit Plus were at the forefront of topics
covered during President Larson’s address. In the second part of her
speech, President Larson also handed out the first official copies of
the college’s 2019-2022 strategic plan.
“Everything at Edison State begins with our mission statement.
Everything that we do generates from our mission statement, which is
that the college provides the learning opportunities, support services,
and commitment that enable students to reach their educational goals
and realize their dreams.”
As Ohio Governor Mike DeWine places focus on workforce, workforce
development, and access to education, Larson indicated that the college
is poised to support his mission.
“Edison State’s goals and missions are fully aligned with Governor
DeWine’s focus on workforce development and education,” said Larson.
“At Edison State, we believe that career guidance and employment goals
are infused across all the areas of academics, student services, and
college outreach. We do not segregate our workforce initiatives into a
single department. This unique integration allows us to act immediately
on the Governor’s initiatives.”
The new Robinson Student Career Center, slated to be complete by the
Fall of 2019, will be the physical representation of Edison State’s
career pathways approach, which aims to help align students with their
career goals. Building on careers, three new career programs were
announced during the address including, aviation, cybersecurity, and
veterinary technology.
The aviation program will prepare students to become private and
commercial pilots. Edison State is partnering with Castle Air, an
international cargo flight company, a subsidiary of American Airlines
to offer this program. The opportunity to collaborate on a degree
feeder program with Sinclair Community College is being explored, which
would allow Edison State graduates to transfer to Sinclair’s newly
approved bachelor of aviation technology degree.
Edison State will collaborate with CISCO network to provide
state-of-the-art technology, and cutting edge cyber-antihacking
techniques to combat the ever-changing threats from national and
international sources to students enrolled in the cybersecurity
program.
Edison State has partnered with Upper Valley Career Center to develop
academic programs for students to work as veterinary assistants and
technicians. Veterinary assistant students at UVCC will receive dual
college credit for coursework at Edison State. In addition, four Edison
State lab courses will be conducted in the new facilities at Upper
Valley via a joint usage agreement between the two institutions.
“We share our facilities to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent
well,” Larson said of sharing space at Upper Valley Career Center. “I
can’t say enough about Dr. Nancy Luce and the culture that she has
established.”
The Edison State Greenville Campus is home to the agriculture program,
which has seen success since its launch in the fall of 2016. The campus
also offers general education courses and workforce development,
especially in maintenance technology. Edison State also has a joint
usage agreement with the Greenville Technology Center to utilize
facilities for both entities to provide engineering courses.
“The goal of these partnerships is to emphasize to the students that
the program has high standards and outstanding quality by virtue of its
alignment with an institution of higher education,” said Larson.
The newest Edison State campus, which opened in the spring of 2019, is
located in Eaton. Conveniently located on a shared campus with the
Preble County YMCA and Kettering Health Network, Edison State proudly
partners with the Preble County Youth Foundation to respond to the
unique needs of the region. Programming offered at the campus will
initially focus on agriculture along with Associate of Science and
Associate of Arts transfer degrees.
“We’re out in Preble County meeting with businesses and listening,”
said Larson. “We’ll find out what their needs are and we will program
accordingly.”
The Edison State Campus at Troy is slated to open in the Fall of 2019
and is positioned to be the hub of healthcare education and training
for the Upper Miami Valley. Non-credit training, certificates, and
associate degree program will be offered at the campus and include
Physical Therapy Assistant, Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy, Sonography,
Fire/EMT, and Nurses Aid Training.
“We will have a partnership with Franklin-Urbana. We will be
co-programming with them. They will offer the bachelor’s degrees in
healthcare administration,” added Larson.
The College Credit Plus (CCP) program at Edison State is now in its
fourth year and continues to grow. In January of 2018, Edison State
started placing enrollment managers in high schools to help build
strong relationships with both CCP student and parents in more than 64
schools across the region. Edison State continues to see tremendous
results from this initiative with more than 2,000 high school students
completing dual-credit college coursework.
“College Credit Plus is raising the bar in Ohio for college completion.
The students who have taken those courses go on to finish their
four-year degree and enter the workforce quickly. They are more
successful in college because they have had that experience with our
courses, small class sizes, and student support,” said Larson.
Edison State has recently launched a new scholarship program for CCP
students as an incentive for them to continue their education at Edison
State after graduation. Students who earn between 9 and 44 credits
through the CCP program are eligible for a scholarship that will cover
50-percent tuition and general fees. Students who have earned 45 or
more credit hours through Edison State are eligible for a scholarship
that will cover 100-percent of tuition and general fees.
“It’s important for students to finish their associate’s degree. That’s
a credential they will have for life.”
“Because of all of these partnerships and all of the support from you,
Edison State is growing. It is unusual for community colleges to be
growing in enrollment but we are so we feel that we are on the right
track,” said Larson.
Photo: Edison State President Dr. Doreen Larson delivers the State of
the College Address.
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