The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) has received a grant from the Teagle Foundation and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to launch an "Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts."

This new project will bring together 14 independent colleges and universities and 10 community colleges in Ohio, including Lakeland Community College, to establish three pathways to a baccalaureate degree in English, psychology and biology for students at community colleges.

The Ohio consortium will build on lessons learned through CIC's previous Teagle-supported project to support community college transfer into CIC member institutions in North Carolina, "Independent Pathways: Community College Transfer in the Liberal Arts."

The "Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts" will build on a solid foundation for community college transfer in the state of Ohio.

"We're removing the barrier of students losing credits when they transfer to a private college in Ohio," said Laura Barnard, J.D., executive vice president and provost at Lakeland. "This initiative will allow our students a more seamless transition to baccalaureate degree programs. By removing this obstacle, they increase their chances of earning a bachelor's degree. It also reduces tuition costs by outlining a clear checklist of courses required to fulfill degree requirements."

CIC and Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges will draw on the existing relationships and mutual trust between participating institutions to design clear, consistent pathways to a baccalaureate degree at any of the institutions in the consortium.

The consortium will address some of the most challenging barriers faced by community college students transferring to four-year colleges and universities, including a lack of comprehensive advising and credit loss in the transition between institutions.

Discipline-specific guided pathways that provide curricular templates for students to transfer as junior English, biology or psychology majors will alleviate credit loss and reduce the confusion and anxiety surrounding many transfer decisions, so students can focus on their goal of graduating with a bachelor's degree.

Participating CIC members include Ashland University, Baldwin Wallace University, Bluffton University, Capital University, Defiance College, Denison University, Hiram College, Lourdes University, Malone University, Muskingum University, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Tiffin University and Ursuline College.

Participating community colleges include Central Ohio Technical College, Clark State College,
Columbus State Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, Lakeland Community College, Lorain County Community College, North Central State College, Sinclair Community College, Stark State College and Terra State Community College.

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of more than 750 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education's contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility. It conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers in the United States. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

By: Jessica Novak