Testimony Presented by Dr. Para Jones, President

Stark State College

Before the Ohio House Higher Education Study Committee

Chairman Cliff Rosenberger

September 4, 2013

Chairman Rosenberger, Vice Chair Hagan, and members of the Ohio House Higher Education Study Committee, my name is Para Jones, President of Stark State College, and I am pleased to present testimony here today at my alma mater and valued partner in higher education, the University of Mount Union. Stark State serves more than 15,500 students through 230 associate degree programs and certificate programs that lead to high-growth, high-demand careers. Accompanying me today are Samantha Rinehart, a Stark State graduate who now teaches in our occupational therapy assistant program, and Justin Tisevich, a current student.

Thank you for the work that your committee is doing to help ensure affordable and high quality higher education and professional development opportunities to students of all ages in the State of Ohio.

I am here to speak on behalf of the Ohio College Opportunity Grants, the state’s needs-based financial assistance program, and to thank you, our legislature and our governor for increasing OCOG in the recently passed state budget.

As a Mount Union undergraduate, OCOG, then known as OIG (Ohio Instructional Grant) was a critical part of the financial aid support that made it possible for me to earn a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, from this wonderful college. My father was a Canton police officer and my stay-at-home mother could never afford college for the five children in our family. All five of us earned bachelor’s degrees, four in the state of Ohio and with OIG aid. Ohio made an important investment in me and in my siblings, and the results are that four of us live, work and pay taxes in Ohio. Neither of our parents had college degrees, but collectively we offspring earned several degrees: MD, Ph.D., and four master’s degrees.

I am here to ask you to give the same important OCOG support I and so many others received and continue to receive to the 200,000 students attending Ohio’s community and technical colleges, including my students at Stark State College.

Until 2009, OCOG was available to ALL students attending Ohio’s public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities. Today, OCOG is not available to the vast majority of our state’s 200,000-plus community college students – students who are pursuing associate’s degrees and certificates in high-growth, high-demand fields such as welding, accounting, automotive technology, computer technology, nursing, dental hygiene, advanced manufacturing, oil and gas…and many more.

Allow me to use some Stark State student profile data to illustrate the value OCOG could have on student success and Ohio’s economy:

  • Over 80% qualify for need-based aid, which now consists of Pell grants and loans. Pell grant eligibility has been reduced dramatically in recent years, which has impacted our students’ ability to continue their education.
  • At least 86% of our students work while attending college – mostly in low-paying jobs.
  • Because they are working, the majority of our students attend part-time, which extends their time-to-degree. On average, it takes our students 3.9 years to complete a degree. For many, this is too long, life gets in the way and they get distracted from their academic and career goals.

With OCOG funding, our students could afford to take more classes, finish their degrees sooner, avoid debt, get jobs and become tax-paying citizens. Because 90% of our graduates stay in the region, they contribute to our region’s “brain gain” and contribute to the local economy. Restoring OCOG for community college students would be a wise investment for our state.

Our state is beginning to see signs of economic recovery. As Representative Hagan knows, Stark State is committed to meeting the needs of local business and industry. We have strategic education-business partnerships with LG Fuel Cells, The Timken Company, Chesapeake Energy and other oil and gas-related companies that are part of the Utica Shale development.

It is time for Ohio to reconsider OCOG and/or performance-based workforce grants for needy community college students enrolled in high-demand occupational certificate and degree programs to ensure that growing industries have the technically proficient workforce they need.

Once again, Chairman Rosenberger and members of the committee thank you for allowing me to testify today. As always, Stark State College will continue to strive to be a leader in higher education and a catalyst for economic growth in our community and state.

At this time I will be happy to answer any questions members may have.