Cincinnati State and Miami University on Monday announced they will join forces at Miami's regional campus in Butler County. The partnership will allow students at Cincinnati State to study at the university's Middletown campus and encourage them to pursue four-year degrees through the university.
The campus will become a co-location for the two intuitions and align specific degree programs so students can seamlessly transition from community college to a four-degree program at Miami.
Additionally, both schools will share academic advisors, facilities and student support services to create a cohesive system that more students can utilize to take the next step in their education.
"I think it's just the beginning," Cincinnati State President Monica Posey said. "We're going to be sharing space, sharing resources, the advisors [will be] working together. It's all about the future in terms of coming together and being more efficient."
Miami's President Gregory Crawford says the collaborative effort will benefit the region as a whole.
With companies like Intel setting up shop in Ohio, Crawford says it will be important to make access to higher education easier and build an educated local workforce that can meet the demands of the state's growing technology industry.
"Ohio is doing extraordinarily well right now," Crawford said. "You've heard about 'Silicon Heartland' — some of those great names that are being thrown out there because of Intel's presence. Workforce is going to be critically important for us to deliver top talent to these companies to Ohio."
For some students at Cincinnati State like Caitlin Lowe, this new path to a four-degree program has inspired a change to their original college plans.
"When I first came to Cincinnati State, I was just looking to pursue a certificate," Lowe said.
After enrolling in community college, Lowe says her advisors encouraged her to pursue her education further and this shared location will make that pursuit easier.
"It was never a part of my plan, but it is now," she says. "I know that I can do so much more with my education and myself than I thought I ever could."
Cincinnati State will offer courses at the Middletown campus beginning next fall.
