'Landmark Partnership'

'Landmark Partnership'

Ohio Wesleyan and Columbus State Announce New Programs to Improve Student Access, Affordability

DELAWARE, Ohio - Ohio Wesleyan University and Columbus State Community College today announced three new groundbreaking collaborations - including Tuition Match and Teach Now programs - to address societal challenges and help Columbus State students more quickly, easily, and affordably earn their OWU bachelor's degrees.

The schools unveiled the trio of collaborations during a public ceremony April 18 at Columbus State's Delaware Campus, highlighted by the Tuition Match program. Beginning this fall, up to 25 qualified Columbus State graduates will be able to enroll at Ohio Wesleyan annually to complete their bachelor's degree while paying the same tuition they paid during their final semester at Columbus State.

Ohio Wesleyan President Matt vandenBerg and Columbus State President David Harrison outlined the new collaborations, which also include a Teach Now program to help get qualified teachers into Ohio's K-12 classrooms more quickly and an expanded Preferred Pathway program to help more students transfer from Columbus State to complete their four-year bachelor's degrees at Ohio Wesleyan as swiftly and smoothly as possible.

The Tuition Match program - the first of its kind available to Columbus State graduates - is open to any Columbus State student who has earned an associate degree, as long as the student has achieved a grade point average of at least 3.5 and is in good academic standing with no disciplinary violations. The program is available to up to 25 full-time students each year for up to four consecutive OWU semesters.

The Teach Now program is OWU's accelerated teacher licensure pathway that addresses central Ohio's teacher shortage by providing high school students who have earned an associate of arts or associate of science degree at Columbus State with an affordable, high-quality pathway to becoming a licensed K-12 teacher.

Starting this fall, qualified high school students will be able to combine College Credit Plus/Dual Enrollment classes completed through Columbus State with Teach Now enrollment in OWU's accredited education program, enabling them to graduate from Ohio Wesleyan with their bachelor's degrees and Ohio teaching licenses in as little as two years.

The expansion of the Preferred Pathway program with Ohio Wesleyan ensures that additional qualified Columbus State graduates are able to enroll at Ohio Wesleyan and earn their four-year bachelor's degrees without credit-transfer concerns. As of this fall, Ohio Wesleyan will have 20 majors that are part of the Columbus State pathway.

The full list of OWU Preferred Pathway majors comprises accounting, biology, business administration-management, business administration-marketing, communication, data analytics, economics, elementary education, English-creative writing, English-literature, finance, health and human kinetics-nutrition, inclusive elementary education, integrated science for teachers, management economics, neuroscience, psychology, sociology, special education, and zoology.

"With today's announcement, Ohio Wesleyan and Columbus State have struck a landmark partnership that we believe will redefine how institutions like ours can collaborate to expand access, improve outcomes, and address pressing societal challenges," said Ohio Wesleyan President vandenBerg, Ed.D. "Tuition Match, Teach Now, and our expanded Preferred Pathway programs provide important new opportunities for Columbus State graduates to turn their two-year associate degrees into four-year OWU bachelor's degrees. And this is just the beginning. Together, we aim to set a new paradigm for how liberal arts and community colleges can partner to advance shared objectives and ultimately strengthen our communities and world."

Columbus State President Harrison, Ph.D., said the new collaborations with Ohio Wesleyan will create life-changing opportunities for the community college's graduates.

"Columbus State is committed to helping our students fulfill their career dreams as quickly and affordably as possible," Harrison said. "Our expanded collaborations with Ohio Wesleyan through Tuition Match, Teach Now, and additional Preferred Pathway programming provide opportunities for students to earn an associate degree from Columbus State and a bachelor's degree from Ohio Wesleyan with little or no debt. Moving forward, these programs and future collaborations with Ohio Wesleyan will change the educational landscape in groundbreaking ways."

Recognized as one of 44 national "Colleges That Change Lives," Ohio Wesleyan confers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Bachelor of Science degrees in 70 majors and 11 interdisciplinary and pre-professional programs.

The university currently serves more than 1,450 students from 40 states and territories, and 27 countries.

Columbus State is Ohio's largest open-enrollment state community college, serving more than 41,000 full- and part-time students through campuses in Columbus and Delaware, and through regional learning centers in Dublin and Southwest Columbus (Bolton Field).

Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan University at owu.edu and more about Columbus State Community College at cscc.edu.

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