Accessible, Affordable, and Flexible Higher Education for Transfer Students in Ohio
Accessible, affordable, and flexible higher education for Ohio students is the simple yet powerful mission of The Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts. The Consortium has united 14 independent colleges and universities and 11 community colleges in Ohio to remove obstacles and establish transfer pathways to a bachelor’s degree for students at community colleges now and in the future.
A signing ceremony, held on December 7, 2022, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, served as an opportunity to highlight the individuals and colleges who made this program possible as well as pledge that all partner institutions will continue to come together to work toward transfer student success.
Presidents or provosts from each institution signed a pledge to support access and opportunity for transfer students. Randy Gardner, chancellor for the Ohio Department of Higher Education, provided opening remarks; Jonnie Guerra, senior advisor, Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways, Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), spoke on behalf of CIC president Marjorie Hass; and Annie Bezbatchenko, senior program officer for the Teagle Foundation, shared from the perspective of a grantor's support of this and other transfer pathway projects.
“I am so proud of the work that faculty members and administrators at the 25 institutions have done together to smooth the way for future students to follow these pathways into majors in English, biology, and psychology, as well as building a more welcoming transfer culture to help these students achieve their dreams,” said CIC president Marjorie Hass.
“To sign these pathways after one year of collaboration is a major achievement, and I’d like to thank the faculty work groups for their hard work and collaboration to build these pathways, and the chief academic officers at the 25 participating institutions for leading this work on their campuses,” continued Hass.
In signing the transfer pledge, participants committed to understand and honor their connected roles in enhancing and providing access for students across Ohio. The program accounts for the fact that students’ dreams, goals and educations often evolve course by course, semester to semester, and that courses can be combined to build degree programs. The value of transfer pathways is that they offer an assurance to students that each consortium member believes in and follows a common and proven path to increase student success.
““In this work, we are removing barriers and misconceptions around transfer, clarifying curriculum choices that work for all of us – for the benefit of students, faculty, advisors, and all of our colleges.””
The consortium was launched in the fall of 2021, and made possible through a grant from the Teagle Foundation and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
“OFIC and CIC share a strong and successful partnership. We hold a State Council membership in CIC and all 33 of our members hold institutional memberships,” said OFIC president, Bill Spiker.
“The four-year, $400,000 grant funding for the project was secured by CIC and we were pleased to see Ohio independent campuses develop stronger pathways leading to more liberal arts graduates who will ultimately help boost Ohio’s economy,” continued Spiker.
The Consortium recently announced the approval of three pathways in biology, English and psychology.
View each approved transfer pathway: