Mission Statement
The mission of the Greenville-Darke County College Access Program is to assist the community and especially high school students and their parents to develop a mindset that most students can attend post secondary education and find resources to support themselves as they work through their educational programs. We will inspire students to believe that they can attain a college education; we will give them support throughout the college application process and will assist them in gaining funds to attend college.

Program History
An initial meeting of Greenville Business Advisory Committee had a discussion on enhancing the interest in college and post secondary education with Dr. Susan Zelman, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Ohio, who suggested that the Committee look into OCAN to see if it would meet the county’s needs. This suggestion led to conversations with the Superintendent of Greeneville City Schools about college access work with OCAN and starting a program in Darke County, beginning with the Greenville City Schools.

Two members of the OCAN Planning Committee visited two different OCAN programs. They brought back information from two very different programs and presented it to the larger planning committee. The committee was then able to discern the type of format that would work best in the Greenville/Darke County area. From here the committee piloted the process with one student who was considered at-risk. As the committee member worked with the student, he found that helping a disadvantaged student took much more time than expected. The pilot helped to influence implementation of the program.

Program Services and Goals
The Darke County College Access Program has stated four goals which are to:

• Create and enhance a cultural expectation of college and postsecondary options for students in the community;
• Provide assistance to individuals seeking college entrance and those currently enrolled by offering one-on-one assistance in the college application process, scholarship, & aid search, and the completion of the FAFSA;
• Remain current in information relating to OCAN principles by developing an on-going relationship with postsecondary institution representatives and by attending conferences/workshops/seminars provided by OCAN, postsecondary institutions, Board of Regents, and government agencies on topics related to college access; and
• Provide assistance on a phased-in timeline to students and parents across the Darke County community.

College Access Program Map