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The Southern Ohio Center of Excellence’s
mission it to increase the number of youth and adults entering
into and successfully completing higher education. This
non-profit Regional Center of Excellence began as a pilot
project which explores National, State and Local Best
Practices and collaborates with local partners to present
programs to public schools, agencies, organizations, and the
general public of Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland
Counties in order to remove both actual and perceived barriers
to obtaining higher education. SOCOE has three Strategic
Initiatives which focus on College Access, Advocacy and
Sustainability. The Ohio Board of Regents is working with the
Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) and the Ohio Department of
Education to help all Ohio communities find a safe and sure
course to a future in which every student aspires to go to
college and is able to do so. Provided in the following is a
case study report of SOCOE.
The programs which operate under
SOCOE’s umbrella are AmeriCorps*VISTA; GEAR UP, Gaining Early
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs; Highland
County P-16; OACHE, the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher
Education; OCAN, the Ohio College Access Network; and Your
Place, a Program for Adult Learners. Along with its many
community partners, SOCOE provides services to youth and
adults entering education through funding resources provided
by OCAN, GEAR UP, OACHE, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Carl
Perkins, Verizon Foundation, General Electric’s Community
Service Fund, Your Place Community Contracts, “Your Place”
for the Adult Learner Workbooks, Broken Wings Fly
Scholarships, and a Recycling Fundraiser; United Way of
Greater Cincinnati; and Southern State Community College
Foundation Scholarships.
For more information on the Southern Ohio
Center of Excellence’s Programs, please contact
Brenda Martin
toll free at 1-800-334-6619 extension 3530 or
Rhonda Fannin at
1-800-334-6619 extension 2785. Calls can also be made locally
at (937) 695-0307.
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