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Plan now to join K-12 and college educators, administrators and others from the public and private sectors on October 15-17, 2008 for Opportunity for All: The 15th Annual OACHE Conference. The conference will be hosted by Washington State Community College in Marietta, Ohio.

This year’s conference will begin with a luncheon on Thursday at the Lafayette Hotel and will conclude with a closing speaker and a "Grab-N-Go" lunch on Friday afternoon. Also, a pre-conference workshop is scheduled for October 15 for science educators; this workshop will feature Darryl Baynes. 

More than 20 breakout session will be available on a variety of topics including engaging parents and families in your college-access program; grant-seeking and community fund-raising; P-16 initiatives; ACT; the Ohio Skills Bank; Seniors to Sophomores; the Ohio Can! Go to College campaign; Appalachian culture; and KnowHow2Go.

Conference attendees are responsible for making their own lodging arrangements. Contact information for several area lodging options is provided below for your convenience. Rooms have been blocked at the following hotels until September 16 for conference attendees. Make your reservations early in order to secure a room and get the conference rate, where available.

Lafayette Hotel
101 Front Street
Marietta, OH
740-373-5522

Comfort Inn
700 Pike St.
Marietta, OH
740-374-8190

Hampton Inn
508 Pike Street
Marietta, OH
740-373-5353

Conference registration will soon be available through the OACHE website, and paper registration forms will also be available. Sign up for our news RSS feed (see link in sidebar) to receive notification, or check back on the site later in May.

On March 31, Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut presented a 10‐year strategic plan for higher education to Governor Ted Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly that details strategies to meet the governor’s goal of enrolling 230,000 more students while keeping more graduates in Ohio and attracting more talent to the state.

The plan promises to raise the overall educational attainment of the state of Ohio.

"This report builds upon the principles I put forth last year in creating the University System of Ohio," Strickland said. "This 10‐year plan for Ohio’s institutions of higher education will ensure not only that we dramatically expand educational opportunities for Ohioans but that we do so in a way that makes our state a world‐class economic competitor."

The plan will provide Ohioans with access to a high‐quality education with a low‐cost tuition by:

Creating distinctive missions for each university leading to the establishment of Centers of Excellence that will drive the economy.

Offering many educational options to students who can then choose the best programs at the best price to meet their needs.

Offering associate and bachelor’s programs in core fields available at a University System of Ohio campus within 30 miles of every Ohioan.

Allowing "Dual Admission" for students entering a community college with the intention of continuing on to a University System of Ohio university.

Reframing the relationship between business and higher education to create new jobs and a highly skilled workforce.

Encouraging high-school students to earn college credit through "Seniors to Sophomores" and other early college credit programs.

Chancellor Fingerhut said, "Over the past year, I have met with and visited presidents, faculty, students, business leaders, legislators, and national experts to form a uniquely Ohio approach to higher education, drawing on our strengths to reclaim our premier role in the global economy."

The plan also calls for a higher level of accountability for both individual institutions and the University System of Ohio. Additionally, it establishes performance measures that will reward excellence and efficiency. Universities will join the national Voluntary System of Accountability, which will make data available regarding price, financial aid, degree programs, retention and graduation rates, campus safety, student satisfaction, and student learning outcomes. All of these results will be available to prospective students in an Ohio College Portrait. The performance of the University System of Ohio as a whole will be gauged according to 20 performance metrics, each measured and updated in real time at www.universitysystem.ohio.gov/dashboard.

The University System of Ohio, created through a directive of Governor Strickland, consists of 13 public universities, one medical college, 24 regional branch campuses and 23 community colleges, as well as adult literacy and adult workforce centers. In creating the University System of Ohio, the governor recognized that the primary way to make Ohio’s economy more competitive is by raising the aspirations and the educational levels of its citizens.

To view the full report, please visit www.universitysystem.ohio.gov.

On March 29th, from 11 am until 1 pm, national award-winning author Jeff Biggers will be at the Jesse Stuart Foundation signing copies of his critically acclaimed book, The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment to America.

Mr. Biggers’s background as an educator, radio correspondent and community organizer informs his award-winning stories that appear regularly on NPR, PRI and in scores of magazines and newspapers including USA Today, Newsweek and The Atlantic among others.

OACHE was honored to have Mr. Biggers as a keynote speaker at the annual conference last October. 

Through an OACHE-funded program, Monroe County high school seniors visited Ohio University Eastern Campus this week to experience “A Day in the Life.”

Seniors from Swiss Hills Career Center visited on Monday, and seniors from Beallsville High School and River High School visited on Wednesday, to see what it would be like to be a college student, and what their lives may be like ten years from now.

Students were able to tour the campus, learn about financial-aid opportunities, and attend a college class. “It’s fun going to different colleges to see how different they are and what fits you better,” said Swiss Hills Career Center senior Christa Ayers.

All students also participated in a reality exercise to see what life might be like when they are 28 years old. They first chose what career they hoped to pursue. They also made decisions about their future family: whether or not they would be married, whether or not they would have children and if so, how many. Then staff members told the students how much their monthly salary would be.

Given that information, the students then visited different stations to rent or buy a house; buy a car; pay taxes; make entertainment choices, including vacations and internet packages; secure auto and homeowners or renters insurance as necessary; and buy groceries for the family.

It was a reality check for students about the impact of their education and life choices on their expenses and standard of living. “One student who said he was going to have seven children, quickly ran out of money,” said Jennifer Kellner, the coordinator of the event.

The campus visits, including all busing and lunches, were made possible through a grant to Ohio University Eastern Campus from the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE). With the grant money, Ohio University Eastern Campus created the program Creating Opportunities Necessary to Access College Today (CONTACT), to help Monroe County students gain more information about the possibilities of attending college.

For more information about the CONTACT program, contact Jennifer Kellner, OU-Eastern’ss Recruitment & OACHE Program Coordinator, at 740-699-2347, toll-free at 1-800-648-3331, or by email at kellner@ohio.edu.

Dr. Dan Evans, executive dean for regional campuses at Ohio University, was recently named as the newest member of the OACHE Board of Directors.  Dr. Evans became the dean at Ohio University Southern in 2001 and was appointed executive dean for regional campuses in 2006.  Prior to that, he had served as dean of Wright State University’s Lake Campus in Celina, Ohio, since 1994.  From 1981 to 1994, he held several administrative positions at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, serving the last four years as assistant vice president of academic affairs.  During his years at Shawnee State, Dr. Evans was instrumental in OACHE’s successful bid for a federal TRiO grant, the Ohio Appalachian Educational Opportunity Center (EOC).

Evans earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a doctoral degree in higher education adminstration, both from Ohio University.  He also received a master’s degree in counseling from Morehead State University.

OACHE executive director Brenda Haas welcomed Dr. Evans to the board, saying "Dan has been a supporter of OACHE since it’s inception.  We look forward to his participation on the OACHE board."

On March 10, 2008, the Ohio Board of Regents, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education and the Partnership for Continued Learning, will begin accepting proposals for planning grants of up to $100,000 to assist “Early Adopters” with implementation of the Seniors to Sophomores initiative announced by Governor Ted Strickland in his 2008 State of the State Address. (Download the Request for Applications)

Seniors to Sophomores is a dual enrollment program that enables academically qualified high-school seniors to earn a year’s worth of both high school and college credit at no cost to the student. “Early Adopters” may also choose to expand and encourage other dual enrollment or accelerated learning programs such as Advanced Placement, College Tech Prep, International Baccalaureate, and the traditional Post-Secondary Enrollment Option Program. However, respondents to this Request for Applications must offer the Seniors to Sophomores program as one option to qualified students.

Any public school district or community school may apply in collaboration with an identified University System of Ohio partner(s). Planning grants will be awarded up to $100,000 each. The Seniors to Sophomores program is not intended to be a competitive grant process. All acceptable applications will be funded up to a total of $4 million.

Interested parties are invited to participate in a conference call about the grant program on March 6 from 8:30-10 a.m. Contact Corey Hawkey at 614-466-5812 to receive dial-in instructions for the conference call.

Emailed applications will be accepted beginning March 10, 2008, and should be sent to Deborah Gavlik c/o the Partnership for Continued Learning, at dgavlik@regents.state.oh.us. Any questions regarding the RFA may also be directed to Deborah Gavlik.

Download the Request for Applications

The Ohio Department of Development and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, in partnership with Ohio’s three Local Development Districts and The Appalachian Regional Commission, invite you to participant in a two-day Grant Writing Workshop that will provide a comprehensive overview of grant writing.

The workshop is dedicated to enhancing your skills for writing compelling proposals that will augment your organization’s activities through increased funding.

This hands-on grant writing workshop is for those who are unfamiliar with grant writing, or desire to enhance current skills. Participants who are currently in the process of writing a grant application are encouraged to bring proposals to the workshop. Individuals will have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with the facilitator to review and discuss proposal

Individuals and organizations serving Ohio’s Appalachian region are encouraged to take advantage of this workshop, particularly those in the Appalachian Regional Commissiondesignated distressed counties (Athens, Meigs, Pike, and Vinton Counties).

Please download the brochure and application: GrantWritingWorkshopBrochure.pdf

Zane State College, one of the OACHE’s ten member higher-education institutions, is ranked ninth among two-year colleges in the nation, according to a report released this week by Washington Monthly.

The results are based on graduation rates and on student feedback as collected in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, or CCSSE. The survey measures how well two-year colleges are using teaching techniques that lead to better learning.

“We are proud that we represented Ohio in such a positive way,” said Dr. Paul Brown, president of Zane State College. “The ranking is a real source of pride for the College and the communities we serve.”

Dr. Brown credits Zane State College’s supportive boards and the personal touch philosophy—demonstrated by faculty and staff, as well as members of the community—as factors that had the greatest impact on its high ranking.

“Over and above the rankings, CCSSE tells us how we are satisfying our students’ needs,” said Dr. Brown. “Our success depends on our ability to solicit feedback from students and area employers and we’ve managed to do this very well. The end result is a graduation rate approaching three times the national average and alumni who go on to fulfilling careers.”

Washington Monthly cites the fact that 43 percent of all college freshmen begin their education at two-year institutions as an important reason for ranking two-year colleges.

Specific measurements in determining the rankings include academic challenge, student-faculty interaction, support for learners, student effort, and graduation rates.

The Washington Monthly article, “America’s Best Community Colleges,” is available at www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.careyessay.html.

For information about Zane State College’s programs, or to apply, contact the Admissions Office at 740-588-1226 or toll-free at 800-686-8324 ext. 1226, or visit the College’s website at www.zanestate.edu.

The new year brings about a change in the leadership of the OACHE board of directors. Beginning a two-year term as board chair is Dr. Charlotte Hatfield.  Dr. Hatfield became the fifth president of Washington State Community College in Marietta, Ohio, in July 2002. Since joining the college, she has started the Washington State Community College Foundation; developed a Phase II site plan; opened a $1.2 million diesel truck instructional lab; started new academic programs including American Sign Language and Simulation and Game Design; and created an Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy to serve Southeast Ohio.

She spent the 1980s teaching public relations in the Journalism Department at Ball State University and in the late 1990s entered the two-year college arena as executive director of marketing and public relations for Ivy Tech State College, later serving as executive dean of the Elkhart Campus of Ivy Tech. Dr. Hatfield has three degrees from the University of Texas at Austin: a bachelor’s and master’s in Journalism and a doctorate in Community College Leadership/Higher Education Administration. Her first degree was an Associate of Arts from her hometown college, Hutchinson Community College, in Hutchinson, Kansas.

In her new role as chair of the OACHE Board of Directors, Dr. Hatfield succeeds Dr. Joe Bukowski, president of Belmont Technical College.

“The OACHE would like to thank Dr. Bukowski for the outstanding leadership he has provided as our board chair over the last two years,” said Dr. Brenda Haas, OACHE executive director. “We also welcome Dr. Hatfield as chair and look forward to working with her leadership over the next two years.”

The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University has completed the first product of a two-year research effort addressing postsecondary education access and completion for students from the 29 Appalachian Ohio counties. This research effort, which will update the 1992 Appalachian Access and Success Study that served as the catalyst for creation of the OACHE, is being conducted in partnership with the OACHE, Ohio University’s Center for Higher Education, the Ohio Board of Regents, the Ohio Department of Education’s Ohio College Tech Prep Program, and the Ohio College Access Network.

The recently completed Report 1: Analysis of Selected State and National Data, is the first of five reports that will be completed as part of the study Access and Success—Appalachian Ohio: College Access, Retention, Postsecondary Pathways, and Completion. Report 1 uses existing state and national data sources to look at the characteristics, college readiness behaviors, rates of college enrollment, and college choices of recent high-school graduates. Subsequent reports in the study will analyze additional primary and secondary data sources to assess the current status of college access in Appalachian Ohio as well as postsecondary pathways and completion for Appalachian Ohio students.

Download Report 1: Analysis of Selected State and National Data (PDF)