“Ultimately, that’s what we want,” Herold said. “That’s a year or two down the road. This model will provide students in regional school districts with broadened academic opportunities and create movement toward statewide articulation.”

The virtual center office will serve as a single point of contact, she said. It will ensure consistency among Tech Prep programs and that Kent State has steady communication with every high school.

In addition to serving a larger region, the center will ensure students receive all the help they need transferring Tech Prep coursework for college credit — and intervening when necessary.

Royer said a pilot program is aimed at helping those students who aren’t prepared for college.

“Students will be given an assessment test, and then the three major universities will each compile intervention projects,” Royer said. “At the end of the year, we will look at the data and assess how well these interventions helped these students, which methods worked and which didn’t.”

Herold said no institution is taking a leading role. Kent State houses the central office, Akron oversees distribution of the grant money and Youngstown State oversees college readiness assessments, she said.

The ECRC will serve districts outside the East Central region if it expresses a specific interest in linking with one of the institutions, according to a press release. 

Herold said it’s also important to focus on the students who want to stay in Northeast Ohio. 

“We’re so close, and we want to keep our high school students close,” Herold said. “We want to keep them in this region, so why not give them more opportunities?”

Contact Daniel Moore at [email protected].