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Cincinnati State to Offer Free Summer Course, Textbook to High School Students

  • 04/10/15

Cincinnati State Technical and Community CollegeCINCINNATI, OH — Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is offering to let high school students take one class, up to three credit hours, for free this summer. The offer includes a free textbook and a waiver of normal college fees.

“We want to help high school students get a leg up on college,” says Cincinnati State President O’Dell M. Owens, M.D., during a press conference on April 9.

The offer, known as “3 and a Book,” applies to any Hamilton, Butler, Clermont or Warren County (Ohio) high school student who takes a class at Cincinnati State’s Clifton or Middletown campuses during the Summer 2015 semester. The offer includes rising ninth graders as well as 2015 graduates.

College credits earned by high school students who successfully complete a course under Cincinnati State’s “3 and a Book” summer program can transfer to any public college or university in Ohio. Institutions in other states may accept them as well.

Unlike the dual enrollment or College Credit Plus programs during the regular school year in Ohio, the “3 and A Book” summer program at Cincinnati State does not have a financial or administrative effect on high schools. Participants may apply to their high schools for credit.

Dr. Owens said Cincinnati State has a vested interest in attracting qualified students to its campuses, and also embraces recent initiatives by Ohio Gov. John Kasich and the General Assembly to reduce the time and cost for students to earn a college degree.

“This is our give-back to the community,” Dr. Owens says. “Of course, I want students to come back to Cincinnati State — to have a taste for more. I want to be like the potato chip.”

State Rep. Jonathan Dever, a member of the Ohio House Ways & Means Committee who attended the press conference, says the Cincinnati State plan is in keeping with the push by the Legislature and governor to reduce the cost of higher education. “This is a great step in the right direction,” says Dever, who represents portions of Hamilton County in the House.

Among the details of the “3 and a Book” offer:

  • Neither COMPASS® placement tests nor SAT or ACT pre-admission tests will be required for high school students in the summer program, but prerequisites for upper level Cincinnati State courses will not be waived.
  • Online courses are not included.
  • The total value of the package — course, fee waiver, textbook — is a maximum of $650 per participant.
  • Summer Semester courses begin May 11. Most last 14 weeks, but some are offered in condensed formats in a 10-week cycle that begins June 1. 

Students who wish to participate in the “3 and a Book” program need only to fill out the form found at www.cincinnatistate.edu/summer and submit their high school transcript, or call 513/569-1640 for more information.

About Cincinnati State
Cincinnati State (www.cincinnatistate.edu) enrolls about 10,600 students and offers more than 130 associate degree and certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. Cincinnati State has one of the most comprehensive co-op programs among two-year colleges in the U.S.

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