College Access Day in Ohio Kicks Off with Top Policymakers
National debut of new cage-rattling ads that inspire kids to KnowHow2GO to College

Columbus, Ohio – At the Ohio Statehouse this morning, top policymakers joined forces with a coalition of Ohio programs to kick-off College Access Day in Ohio. Together they can make a difference in the lives of Ohio’s youth by motivating students to pursue college, counseling students and parents how to access financial aid and supporting students with Last-Dollar Scholarships and internships.

These allies in education, called Partners in College Access and Success, are comprised of college access professionals who provide direct services to Ohio students by encouraging more low-income and first-generation students to actively pursue and complete higher education. With support from Governor Strickland, Chancellor Fingerhut, Ohio Senate and House Education Committee Chairs, Senator Joy Padgett and Representative Arlene Setzer, and Ohio’s higher-education institutions, the Partners play an important role in reaching Ohio’s education goals over the next decade.

“In an era when a college education is so critical to success, Ohio is fortunate to have an incredible alliance of organizations who are working to help Ohio students pursue a college degree. Students and our state as a whole will benefit from the renewed focus our state policymakers and the Partners in College Access and Success are placing on making it easier and more affordable for Ohio students to go to college,” said Dr. Nancy Zimpher, University of Cincinnati President.

To make college more available and affordable to Ohioans, the General Assembly has entrusted the Ohio College Access Network (OCAN), one of the Partners in College Access and Success, with $8.5 million to leverage up to $100 million for OhioCan! Go to College, a two-year fundraising campaign that establishes need-based, Last Dollar Scholarships and new internships that will increase college degree attainment. The campaign will build upon established college access activities to reach more students that require financial assistance to enroll in and complete education beyond the high school level.

"According to a recent study by the University of Cincinnati, 4.5 percent more students are graduating from high schools with OCAN programs than similar schools without OCAN college access initiatives. Additionally, 3.8 percent more students with these programs are going on to college. The OhioCan! Go to College campaign will strengthen these efforts well into the future," said Dr. Reginald Wilkinson, OCAN President & CEO.

“While we focus on the future we also recognize the great aspirations and achievements of today’s students,” added Dr. Wilkinson. To celebrate College Access Day in Ohio students from The Ohio State University and Columbus’ Marion-Franklin High School shared how they were inspired by the Partners in College Access and Success. These student testimonials support data from the U.S. Department of Education that indicates 90 percent of teens have college aspirations, yet the Alliance for Youth indicates 42 percent of students age 10-17 are not sure how to achieve their goals.

To ensure Ohio’s low-income and first-generation students go to college, President Zimpher announced the second year of KnowHow2GoOhio campaign messages designed to encourage students to take the tough classes to prepare for college. Radio and television public service advertisements (PSAs) were previewed for the first time nationally in Ohio today. The catchy ads feature a cage-rattling gladiator representing Algebra II, attention-grabbing identical twins representing Biology and a modern take on multi-national historical figures that represent Foreign Language courses. As a past member of the American Council on Education (ACE), President Zimpher participated in creating the media and grassroots campaign, KnowHow2GO, sponsored by ACE, Ad Council and Lumina Foundation for Education. Launched in Ohio last spring by Governor Strickland the campaign is refocusing its energy from Step One: Finding a Caring Adult to Help to Step Two: Taking the Tough Classes. These PSAs will be made available for distribution the first week of May.

For more information visit www.OhioCan.org, www.KnowHow2GoOhio.org, www.KnowHow2GO.org.

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The Partners in College Access & Success change the lives of Ohio’s young people by making their postsecondary dreams become reality. Partners include: Ohio College Access Network (OCAN), www.ohiocan.org, Reginald A. Wilkinson, President & CEO; Ohio Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (OAEOPP) – TRIO, www.oaeopp.org, Dana Lawless-Andric, President; Ohio Association for College Admission Counseling (OACAC), www.oacac.org, Mike Homza, President; Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA), www.oasfaa.org, Amy Baker, President; Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), regents.ohio.gov/gearup, Leslie J. Sawyer, GEAR UP Ohio State Director

The Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) was founded in 1999, by KnowledgeWorks Foundation, in collaboration with the Ohio Board of Regents, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Business Roundtable.  OCAN works to establish college access programs across the state and is the first statewide coordinating body for college access programs in the nation. The goal of the organization is to help more Ohio students pursue postsecondary education through the work of local college access programs, which provide financial aid advising, last dollar grants, career guidance, and other services.  Currently, 36 college access programs serve 200 of Ohio’s 612 school districts, and 17 private/parochial schools in 46 counties touching nearly 175,000 students annually.  For more information visit: www.ohiocan.org.

Ohio Can! Go to College is part of a statewide effort that supports the goal of enrolling 230,000 additional students in Ohio colleges by 2017.  Over the next two years, OCAN will work with its partners to leverage the $8.5 million dollar state investment in college access to several times that amount – up to $100M. The campaign will build upon established college access activities to reach more students in the state that require financial assistance to enroll in and complete education beyond the high school level. Efforts will focus on preparing and attracting students of any age who might not otherwise have considered postsecondary pursuits. Funding will be awarded to organizations based on their ability to secure money for new scholarships, new internships and new cooperative programs. For more information visit: www.ohiocan.org/campaign.

KnowHow2GoOhio, launched in 2007 by Governor Strickland, helps directly connect students to college access organizations like OCAN, TRiO, Tech Prep, GEAR UP and other community based college access programs that provide students with one-on-one guidance in the four steps outlined in the campaign: Be a pain – find an adult who can help you with the steps to college, Push yourself – find out which classes are required for college and take them, Find the right fit – explore colleges with programs that suit your interests, and Put your hands on some cash – there is money out there to help pay for college you just need to apply for it. The campaign has garnered nearly $65 million in donated media across the U.S. over the last 15 months. For more information please visit: www.KnowHow2GO.org and www.KnowHow2GoOhio.org.

KnowHow2GoOhio Partners

National Sponsors: Lumina Foundation for Education, American Council on Education and Ad Council

Lead Partners: Ohio College Access Network (OCAN), Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Board of Regents

Statewide Partners:Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), Ohio Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (OAEOPP)/TriO, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Business Alliance for Higher Education (BAHEE), The Ohio State University Economic Access Initiative, Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA), Ohio Association for College Admissions Counseling (OACAC).