More Ohio high schoolers will be able to take College Credit Plus classes with fewer barriers thanks to a new statewide waiver announced by the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education recently approved a waiver that expands access to CCP courses for students interested in advanced manufacturing careers.
“As we continue our work to strengthen Ohio’s workforce pipeline, one of our top goals is to provide as many of our students as possible the chance to gain experience in the jobs that will define Ohio’s future,” Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel said of the waiver, which he announced during the board’s quarterly meeting held May 8 at Columbus State Community College.
Under the current system, interested students need a cumulative unweighted 3.0 GPA or must pass placement tests before taking entry-level engineering technologies CCP courses. That requirement has posed a barrier to some students who would otherwise want to take college classes but couldn’t meet that requirement, Columbus State Community College President Dave Harrison said.
Instead of being college-ready by a student’s senior year, Harrison said CCP requirements mean students must be college-ready by their sophomore or junior year.
The new waiver allows higher education institutions to eliminate those prerequisites for those pursuing technician degrees or certificates in electro-mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, manufacturing equipment and semiconductor fundamentals. Students still must pass CCP courses to earn dual credit, but the waiver eliminates the need to meet a specific GPA or test score level to enroll in the first place.
“Maybe they had a bad freshman year and weren’t able to dig themselves out by the time they were sophomores,” Harrison said. “This waiver is genius.”
Tressel said the expansion of CCP eligibility will give more Ohio students an affordable pathway to high-demand careers like advanced manufacturing and others, as well as benefit the state to be ready to fill those in-demand jobs.
CCP is Ohio’s dual enrollment program, which allows students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to earn college and high school credits at the same time by taking courses for free from Ohio colleges or universities. Harrison said high school students and their families saved $13 million in college tuition last year by taking CCP courses.
Three Ohio community colleges are the first to apply for the waiver: Columbus State, Lorain County Community College and Sinclair Community College. Columbus State is Ohio’s largest provider of CCP courses with more than 10,000 students a year.
Columbus State is working with high school and career center partners who have existing engineering technologies coursework to help them understand the opportunities provided by this waiver. In fall 2024, Columbus State’s CCP students enrolled in engineering technologies coursework had a 100% success rate, according to the college.
“Ohio’s fastest growing jobs include engineering technician roles connected to advanced manufacturing,” Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Mike Duffey said of the waiver. “Our statewide innovative waivers open this opportunity to many more K-12 students who want to get a head start on the jobs of the future.”
Harrison told the board that he would love to see this waiver expanded to even more in-demand careers like health sciences, nursing and information technology.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Ohio waiver will remove barriers for engineering courses through College Credit Plus
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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