It’s the biggest expansion in Butler County in a decade for the Hamilton County based Cincinnati State, which has its main campus in Cincinnati’s Clifton community.
The coming additional classroom opportunities are the result, said the community college officials, of its growing partnerships with Miami and Butler Tech.
The ramifications of those partnerships will reverberate throughout the region as more graduates enter the workforce trained for jobs area employers are scrambling to fill, said officials.
Middletown’s current Cincinnati State downtown building campus currently serves about 2,000 students — residing in Butler County — annually via live classes, online instruction and those taking community college courses at other State locations.
“Partnerships like we have in Butler County are where higher education is going,” noted Cincinnati State President Monica Posey in a released statement.
“Our goal in each is to allow each student to affordably take the next step in their lives, toward a rewarding future. Also, over 85% of our graduates stay in our region which is key to a strong workforce and regional economy,” said Posey.
Miami University President Gregory Crawford said: “We are excited to partner with Cincinnati State on this vital initiative.”
“Aligning our programs and creating pathways to greater higher education access is a win-win for Butler County and the State of Ohio. This partnership will enable us to help students achieve their educational and career goals and build a strong, high-performing, solution-oriented workforce for the future workplace,” said Crawford.
No date for the opening of the Cincinnati State classes on Miami’s Middletown campus was provided.
And early in 2023 the community college will formalize plans for offering classes on Butler Tech’s main campus with students being offered instruction in the college’s Information Technology and Business pathways program.
Jon Graft, superintendent for Butler Tech, said incorporating the two-year college into the career school, which serves 18,000 high school and adult students on various campuses throughout the county, is a key move to enhancing the region’s economy.
“Butler Tech continues to strive to bring business, education, and communities together to solidify opportunities that best serve our region. The partnership with Cincinnati State expands opportunities to serve additional students in the region,” said Graft.
Rick Pearce, president and CEO of The Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton, said: “Butler County is fortunate to have Cincinnati State delivering higher education skills to local students and they are an integral part of the ‘skills building’ process’ to feed the workforce pipeline in the county and region.
“As the fight for talent increases in the years to come, Butler County students are at a tremendous advantage to have a career technical school, a community college and a 4-year university all working together to meet their needs and the needs of local employers,” said Pearce.
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