Cincinnati State adds programs while keeping its tuition down

The cost of college has risen steadily and steeply over the last few decades, with the price of tuition more than doubling nationwide since the ‘80s. That’s means more debt for students and their parents. It may even keep some prospective students from starting college or getting a degree.

There’s an option at local community colleges for those looking for a better value. At Cincinnati State, the cost of tuition is roughly half or less the cost at four-year public universities in Ohio. At a cost of $178.64 per credit hour, Cincinnati State students can receive access to a range of educational programs resulting in associate degrees or begin a path to a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college, or even select from bachelor’s degree programs that are offered at Cincinnati State.

“Our focus is on access to education,” says Cincinnati State President Monica Posey. “We provide access to so many people in so many different ways.”

The college’s affordable tuition, its flexible class options—which include day and evening programs as well as online options—and its broad admission requirements that make use of multiple measures of achievement beyond test scores and grade-point averages make Cincinnati State accessible to prospective students whose background, academic preparedness, family status, ethnicity or age may have held them back from applying or being accepted to four-year universities, Posey says.

“We’re really proud to be a comprehensive community college,” Posey adds. Its academic offerings range all the way from certificate programs to associate degrees to bachelor’s degrees, and the opportunity to transfer after two years to a four-year school to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

Its affordable tuition is available to students who live throughout the Tristate region. Students who live in eight counties in Northern Kentucky and in 24 counties in Indiana are eligible to attend Cincinnati State at the in-state tuition rate.

“That’s what access is all about,” she says. “We can give them what they need at a particular time in their life as they work toward their career goals and their educational goals.”

Affordable tuition does not come at the cost of a quality education, as Cincinnati State also touts its small class sizes (average of 13 students per class) and the expertise of its faculty, most of whom have significant professional experience on their resumes in addition to their academic degrees.

“They’ve been out in their industries, so they bring real-world experience, and they bring strength in teaching and advising,” Posey says.

High schoolers can get a jump start on college through Cincinnati State’s participation in the state of Ohio’s College Credit Plus program, which enables high school students to complete college courses toward a degree or certificate, explore college content and earn college credits while in high school, potentially reducing the time and cost of attending college after high school.

Cincinnati State works on the college Credit Plus program with 37 public school districts, plus 10 Catholic schools as well as charter high schools. More than 2,000 high school students are enrolled in the program through Cincinnati State, says Mollie Miller, director of institutional research and effectiveness.

“We work with schools to design a model that fits their needs and interests,” Posey says.

Students also gain work experience through the college’s co-op program. “Cincinnati State was founded as a co-op institution,” Posey says. “It’s one of a few two-year colleges with a strong and large co-op program.” Most majors have a co-op experience required for completion, and Cincinnati State has relationships with more than 500 employers in the region, both large and small, who have co-op jobs available. Many students are offered full-time jobs with their co-op employer after they graduate, Posey says.

Cincinnati State has also established agreements with four-year colleges in the region to offer what it calls a “two-plus-two pathway,” that is, two years at Cincinnati State followed by two years at a university to pursue a bachelor’s degree. For some students, starting out at a community college can improve the chances of getting a bachelor’s degree because it can allow them to stay at home if they choose, keep their support networks and keep their costs down while they try out a major, do some course work and see what kind of bachelor’s program might ultimately be for them.

Cincinnati State also offers bachelor’s degrees of its own in two fields of study and is planning to add a third next year. Students can currently earn a bachelor’s in land surveying, a program that was expanded at the request of employers in the region, and in culinary and food science. That program is an expansion of the curriculum at Cincinnati State’s popular Midwest Culinary Institute, which offers associate degrees in culinary arts, brewing science, hospitality management, pastry arts and other food-related studies.

In fall 2023, the college plans to begin offering a bachelor’s degree program in nursing. The college will then offer a full slate of nursing programs, beginning with nurses’ assistant, to registered nurse and the bachelor’s in nursing. “People can start at the beginning or come in wherever they are at in their career or education,” Posey says.

Posey was named Cincinnati president in 2016 after a national search conducted by a committee comprised of faculty staff, alumni, board members, students and administrators.

She began her career in the corporate world, at AT&T, where she worked for about 10 years. After teaching as an adjunct instructor at University of Cincinnati, she found she preferred the world of education. “I wanted a more mission-based career,” she says.

She has served the Cincinnati State community for 30 years, beginning in 1992, when she was hired as an assistant dean. She has since served as director of institutional research and planning, and academic vice president and provost.

She is the first African American female president of a major educational institution in Greater Cincinnati and also the first president hired from within the organization since the school expanded to become a community and technical college in 1994.