By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
North Central State and The Ohio State University will form an alliance on yet another level today that will benefit students in two areas of study. Today’s articulation agreement applies to social work and human services programs.
What it simply means is that NC State students in those associate degree programs will receive full credit should they transfer to The Ohio State University in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree.
Furthermore, says Keith Stoner who is director of Marketing and Creative Services at NC State, “Ohio State will teach all the classes at Mansfield and they can finish right there.”
Stoner said today’s signing is a formal ceremony to what was agreed upon a couple of months ago.
That convenience will extend towards local internships in those programs as well. Stoner called it “very exciting” for NC State and said the program brought with it lots of benefits.
“We’re trying to keep people home, that ‘brain drain’ thing,” Stoner said referring to the concept of the best and brightest leaving for college and never returning home. “It’s tough to get them back.”
North Central State and the Mansfield campus of OSU are neighbors in a shared campus arrangement. This is simply another way to build that relationship and provide direct benefits to the students and the local communities served by the schools.
“We’re really trying to epitomize that campus idea,” Stoner said. “We’re working on some other agreements, one in engineering.”
Stoner noted that last year NC State entered into a similar agreement with Franklin University for students studying business. Franklin teaches business classes at the Kehoe Center in Shelby.
North Central State is also extending its influence in Crawford county with plans to open a Crawford County Education Center in the building that used to house the Crawford County Board of Elections.