FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Contact: Jack Hershey or Tom Walsh
Two-day conference included new Chancellor of Ohio Department of Higher Education and national experts on performance-based funding and completion.
COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio’s performance-based funding formula is working and the state’s 23 community colleges have played an important role in getting students on pathways to jobs and careers are two key takeaways from a two-day conference of community college presidents and their leadership teams this week in Columbus. After hearing from state and national experts on funding and completion, data shows that Ohio’s 100 percent performance-based funding formula has increased the number of students earning a job-focused certificate, credential, or degree.
According to Jack Hershey, president and CEO of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, Ohio’s community college system has seen an 8.5 percent increase in the number of students earning credentials, including a 22.5 percent increase in students earning one-year certificates, even while enrollment has declined due to a strong economy. This shows that the drivers behind the state’s funding formula established in 2013 are working, and is a strategy that state leaders should continue to support.
“Our community colleges continue to answer the call to get more Ohioans job ready and on the path to careers,” Hershey said. “The trustees and presidents have positioned our community colleges as ground zero in Ohio’s workforce training efforts and we are proud of their work to increase student success. As we head into the next budget cycle, we are hopeful that state leaders recognize the important role they play in continuing this success, by sufficiently investing in our institutions in order to ensure no institution loses funding because of our collective success.”
“At the same time, we know that a strategy to increase the numbers of adults with a college certificate or degree that is built simply upon asking for increases in traditional higher education funding sources is an antiquated approach,” said Hershey. “That’s why our strategy calls for a more innovative approach that includes improving coordination between our institutions and human service organizations to help move Ohioans off Medicaid and other safety net programs into a meaningful career, funding to employers to encourage their adoption of promising learn and earn models, and ensuring that the popular college credit plus program works just as well for high school students seeking workforce credentials as it does for those seeking a bachelor’s degree.”
At the conference, Ohio’s new chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education praised the efforts of Ohio’s community colleges while addressing leaders from each of Ohio’s twenty-three colleges.
“Life experiences tell me just how valuable you can be not only to our economy, but on individual student success,” said Chancellor Gardner during his speech. “You will see a pretty aggressive approach to workforce development, workforce training, better alignment with higher education.”
Chancellor Gardner noted that his wife was a graduate of Owens State Community College and his son took part in a “2+2” program at the school and had a seamless transition to a four-year university.