1. Engaging campuses in service to the community.
Ohio Campus Compact VISTA Impact Report 2010-2011:
Central Ohio Technical College
1
COMMUNITY IMPACT
In the two years since Central Ohio Technical
College has partnered with the Ohio Campus
Compact VISTA Program, both VISTAs have been
(continued on reverse)
The Ohio Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA program strategically connects college resources with
communities in need. Corps members gain valuable experience and educational awards. Campuses
expand their civic outreach. And community partners receive critical support.
Poverty Alleviation Focus Area: College access
VISTA Corps Member: Mary Fox
(740) 755-7060 x51633 • mfox@cotc.edu
Site Supervisor: John Merrin Ÿ jmerrin@cotc.tec.oh.us
Ohio Campus Compact VISTA Sr. Program Director:
Lesha Farias (740) 587-8571 • lfarias@ohiocampuscompact.org
www.ohiocampuscompact.org
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The Newark Campus of Central Ohio Technical College is
located in the heart of Licking County Ohio. The current
state of Newark, Ohio is expressed well by a community
member in the following quote: “Our county grapples
with a complex mixture of challenges found in both
urban and rural settings. Newark, the county seat, is a
former industrial center whose manufacturing base has
suffered significant deterioration in the last three decades.
Among other things, the corresponding contraction of job
opportunities has resulted in more generational poverty, an
overburdened social services network and increased
resistance to supporting local schools through ballot issues.”
Newark in particular struggles greatly as more than half of
the students qualify for free and reduced lunch and only 14%
of adults (compared 24% statewide) have a four year
bachelor degree. As a dedicated member of the community ,
Central Ohio Technical College is aware of and dedicated to
the educational and economic struggles and opportunities
for residents of Licking County and surrounding counties.
One way in which to support the community, COTC
created the Center of Access and Retention. The
Gateway’s Center for Access and Retention represents an
initiative that identifies and removes barriers to
college aspiration, persistence and degree
completion realized by COTC’s prospective and current
students. The vision of the Center is that all students
attending COTC, through appropriate intervention and
counseling, will identify clear educational goals and receive
the support they need to persist to achieve those goals,
whether they include degree completion, certification, or
preparation for transfer to a four-year institution. The
Center actively engages in mutually beneficial
community outreach as well as in building and
supporting strategies that will better align COTC’s
efforts to promote student access, success and
persistence to goal attainment.
Thanks to the collaboration and partnership of the
Ohio Campus Compact VISTA, Central Ohio
Technical College, and local community organizations
and schools, college access information and
programming were disseminated throughout Licking
County. These partnerships and programs provide
local students the opportunity to see college not only
as an option but as a reality. This is made possible
through campus visits, on site organization access
workshops, dissemination of college access materials
and resources, application fee and process support
and much more. It is our goal and hope to maximize
student access, learning, and success.
Current
VISTA,
Mary
Fox,
assists
Newark
High
School
senior
with
her
application
to
Central
Ohio
Technical
College
at
the
Newark
High
School.

2.
The VISTA Impact
by the numbers:
Access Initiatives
--------------------------------------
A Call to College Group Sessions
Total Jr’s and Sr’s Advised
200+
ACTC Campus Visit Day
Total Jr. and Sr. Attended
194
ACTC - Application 101
Total Sr.’s Assisted
---------------------------------------
70+
Spring Forward
Total Youth Engaged
46
Spring Forward
Total Youth - Campus Visit
----------------------------------------
43
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Newark Campus Volunteers
18
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Dollars raised for Bowl-for Kids
$425
About Ohio Campus Compact
AmeriCorps*VISTA
Ohio Campus Compact is a statewide nonprofit
coalition of colleges and university presidents and
their campuses working to promote the civic
purposes of higher education. Ohio Campus
Compact provides resources, services &
partnerships to help Ohio campuses deepen their
ability to educate students for civic and social
responsibility and to improve community life.
AmeriCorps*VISTA is the national service program
designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded as
Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and
incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of
programs in 1993, VISTA has been on the front
lines in the fight against poverty in America for
more than 40 years.
The Ohio Campus Compact AmeriCorps*
VISTA Program places and supports VISTAs who
create and expand programs designed to bring
individuals and communities out of poverty. VISTAs
serve in the poorest areas of their communities to
tackle poverty-related problems such as hunger and
homelessness, financial literacy, veteran student
services, public health and college access. More
information at: www.ohiocampuscompact.org
2
able to integrate themselves into the community, engage in forming
partnerships, and develop and implement new access initiatives. While
the VISTAs were and continue to be actively engaged in a variety of
partnerships, three initiatives highlight well their impact. First,
throughout the winter and spring, current VISTA, Mary Fox, was an
active COTC campus liaison to the Newark High School access
organization, A Call to College (ACTC). As campus liaison, Mary
conducted group informational sessions, campus visits, application
assistance, and general problem solving and support to over 200 high
school juniors and seniors. A second way Mary has engaged in
meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships is through her “Spring
Forward” programming, which engaged youth in multiple one to two
hour sessions in which college going and career exploration was the
focus. The following groups participated in this programming: Par
Excellence Academy, YES Clubhouse, Goodwill’s Youth Works, and
Legacy Matters. Lastly, Mary with the assistance of The Ohio State
University Newark OCC VISTA, Jen Anthony successfully recruited
students, faculty, and staff to participate in the Big Brothers Big Sisters
(BBBS) of Licking and Perry Counties Lunch Buddies and Clem Reads
program. This year, they had 18 total volunteers from the Newark
Campus, which more than doubled the number of volunteers from
2009-2010. As a Newark Campus, they also raised $425 for BBBS’s
annual fundraiser, Bowl-for-Kids, $100 more than the previous year.
CAMPUS IMPACT
Due to its location and the many struggles and challenges mentioned
above, getting students to come to college is only half the battle. The
other half is keeping them there. This is particularly pertinent to and
problematic for COTC, as it has the unique opportunity to serve a
wide variety of students, many who are under-resourced, first
generation, or non-traditional, and thus, the most difficult to retain.
While the main poverty alleviation focus for the VISTA is college
access, as a member of the Gateway’s Center for Access and
Retention, her work extended beyond college access efforts and into
college retention initiatives as well. Over the past year, the current
VISTA has been a critical member of a guiding team on campus to
develop and implement a campus-wide professional development
series dedicated to themes and concepts found in Bridges out of
Poverty/Understanding and Engaging Under-Resourced College Students.
The goal of this initiative is to increase awareness and understanding of
our student population, integrate strategies and concepts into campus
policy and procedures, and overall enhance the educational experience
of COTC’s students, with a goal of increasing retention.
KEEPING THE PARTNERSHIP STRONG: OPPORTUNITIES FOR
THE FUTURE
Over the past two years, both VISTAs have participated in the
sustainment and development of many partnerships and programs on
campus and in the community promoting college access and retention.
It is our hope that these efforts will continue to be tailored and
systemized over the course of this next and last year into a format that
can easily be adapted and used on a larger level. The creation of the
Access Ambassadors (student workers trained on college access to
provide programming for local youth groups) and Adopt a High School
(a campus liaison partnership) programs are “larger level” ideas
currently being explored with the goal of continued systemization.