The Ohio Department of Higher Education Board of Trustees adopt a statewide postsecondary attainment goal of 65 percent.
Progress to Date
When it comes to improving college readiness and raising postsecondary success rates, no one can do it alone. Alliances that give P-12 educators and postsecondary institutions access to skills and resources that lie outside their boundaries are essential.
What’s the value of a regional strategy?
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It facilitates a collective response to issues of curriculum alignment, access and communication, and data sharing.
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It enhances the education communities’ potential economic impact.
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It expands the region’s capacity to respond to state and national public policy priorities, especially in the areas of workforce development, STEM education, and college completion.
What will be needed for a regional strategy to be effective?
- A new college-going culture—an expectation of college success.
- A specific focus on working adults, low-income and first-generation students, and students of color.
- Agreement on data and definitions.
- Creativity, deep partnerships, and persistence—and a willingness to take risks.
What do we want a regional strategy to accomplish?
- Ensure that all college-bound high school graduates are college ready.
- Increase the number of high school students who earn college credits before graduation.
- Dramatically increase the number of students earning a college degree or certificate.
- Meet the region’s need for a highly skilled workforce, especially in STEM fields.
- Ensure consistent, accurate and timely communication with students and families to ensure success at the college level.
- Reduce the cost of education for students, families, and taxpayers.
Progress to date in creating a regional strategy
November
2016
May
2016
The Central Ohio Compact Dashboard is live.
The dashboard is the Compact’s first step in answering policy questions such as:
- Where are our graduates after high school?
- Are they successful in post-secondary education?
- Are they working in high-demand industries in Ohio?
These reports will enable education leaders to identify best practices and areas in need of attention, equip students to make more informed decisions on their future and help employers find skilled workers to satisfy their needs.
Among the key features of the site, a simulation tool that shows how factors such as high school graduation rates and college completion rates affect the Compact’s 60 percent goal.
April
2016
Summit VII: Compact: Next Five Years
Leaders unveil the Central Ohio Compact Dashboard, which employs an integrated data system that combines state employer data and high-school and post-secondary education records. It offers a picture of where we are as a region in producing job-ready graduates.
Following the presentation, educators, community partners and industry leaders discuss the next steps for the Compact.
In partnership with I Know I Can and America’s Promise Alliance, Angela Lee Duckworth reveals the importance of grit to success in life as part of the luncheon keynote address.
March
2016
The Central Ohio Compact earns a $400,000 grant over two years from the Joyce Foundation’s Great Lakes College and Career Pathways Partnership to support employer engagement in college and career pathways work.
December
2015
Columbus State awarded an $11.5 million federal grant to expand college readiness programs.
Columbus State is among 13 recipients for the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation 2015 grant. The project titled “Central Ohio Partnership for College and Career Readiness Expansion,” strives to eventually impact more than 10,000 students in seven school partnering districts: Columbus, Groveport-Madison, Hamilton Local, Licking Heights, Reynoldsburg, South-Western and Whitehall. This initiative, which expands the on college’s existing efforts to expose high-school students to college classes, is the work of the Compact focused on seven districts.
April
2015
Summit VI: Continuing the Work
The summit celebrated five years of work within the Central Ohio Compact, touching on four key areas: College Affordability; Dashboard; College Credit Plus and Advising; and Career Pathways and Employer Engagement.
Summit attendees also weighed in on important measures to be featured in a regional dashboard.
April
2014
Summit V: JP Morgan Chase & Co. New Skills at Work
JP Morgan Chase & Co. announced a $2.5 million investment over five years for the Central Ohio Compact work, providing the central Ohio region a platform on which to launch its next rounds of work and measure progress.
December
2013
The Ohio Department of Education’s Straight A grant program issued a consortium of area school districts a $14.4 million award for the Pathways to Prosperity Network, a collaboration that will give students an opportunity to earn college credit and get workplace experience.
Led by Reynoldsburg schools, the consortium includes Columbus, Canal Winchester, Gahanna-Jefferson, Grandview Heights, Hilliard, Licking Heights, New Albany-Plain, Olentangy, South-Western, Whitehall and Upper Arlington as well as Columbus State and Battelle for Kids.
October
2013
American Electric Power Foundation invests $5 million through the Columbus State Community College Foundation to launch STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) dual enrollment programs at Columbus high schools.
April
2013
Summit IV: Workforce and secondary degrees
According to the Pathways to Prosperity Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, half of all young Americans arrive in their mid-20s with the essential credentials and skills for success in the current economy. Education leaders knew tight alignment with employers was needed to be successful. This became a primary focus for Summit IV.
What's next?
Compact members will form strategic partnerships that enhance their capacity to build students’ learning aspirations, strengthen academic preparation, promote adult learning opportunities and improve productivity of educational institutions at all levels.