Ohio College Access Network names College Success Partnership Planning and Implementation Grant recipients

The Ohio College Access Network (OCAN), in collaboration with the Student Access & Success Coordinating Council of Ohio (SASCCO), recently awarded College Success Partnership Planning Grants and College Success Partnership Implementation Grants to Ohio communities that will proudly join forces with like organizations who work to provide disadvantaged students the opportunity to go to college and help ensure degree completion.

In Ohio, for every 100 ninth-graders, 68 graduate from high school, 40 enter college, 27 are still enrolled for after freshman year and 18 graduate from college in six years. This analysis illustrates the heart of Ohio’s college success concern.  As a result, the following five organizations will receive Planning Grants to help initiate partnerships in their respective communities: Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Lorain County Community College, Southern Ohio Center of Excellence and Stark Education Partnership. These groups will develop strategies for better coordinating existing resources and programs as well as open the lines of communication among college access organizations and higher educations institutions. This will ensure that all students, specifically low-income or first-generations students, who are served by college access programs, have the support structures and resources they need to succeed in post-secondary education.

While OCAN programs serve nearly half of the state’s school districts, forming extended partnerships will quickly expand additional aid to more students. “We are serving more than 6,000 students in seven Highland County pilot schools this year and we are excited that the OCAN Success Partnership Planning Grant will allow us to collaborate with six other access partners to assure that the students coming from these pilot schools will succeed in their education beyond high school," said Brenda Martin, Executive Director of the Southern Ohio Center of Excellence.

As these communities begin planning, three other Ohio communities will start their implementation phase. Belmont Technical College, Lima/Allen County College Access Program and Washington State Community College were recipients of last year’s Planning Grants and recently received College Success Partnership Implementation Grants to execute their college retention strategies. These organizations are committed to maintaining strong partnerships, strengthening already successful strategies and implementing initiatives that directly impact the students they serve.

OCAN and SASCCO encourage collaboration of higher education institutions and local college access programs including community-based programs, TRiO, Upward Bound, GEAR UP, Tech Prep, P-16 and other organizations. Collectively, these partnerships concentrate on advancing more students through the higher education pipeline to increase the state’s degree attainment rate and elevate Ohio’s ranking from 39th in the country.

For more information about this initiative please visit www.OhioCan.org.