Talks are in the works to form a new partnership with the Central Ohio Technical College’s Coshocton campus.

Although the partnership is still in the exploratory stages, Dean Gregg Andrews of Kent State Tuscarawas and President Bonnie Coe of the Central Ohio Technical College have been meeting since February to discuss this potential partnership.

CENTRAL OHIO TECHNICAL COLLEGE • Where? Coshocton • Started three-and-a-half years ago with 176 students and has since grown by 1,600 percent • Offers more than 75 classes at 12 satellite locations around the county

Kent State plans to “target students with associate degrees who want to go on for a four-year degree,” said Denise Testa, director of enrollment management and student services at Kent State’s Tuscarawas campus.

She said Kent State plans to award $10,000 in scholarship money for students who enroll in classes at the Coshocton campus through Kent State.

The COTC is a fiscal group that offers opportunities for other partners to form a connection with them. COTC campus Director Dorothy Skowrunski has been actively searching for a new partner for the college after Ohio State withdrew from its partnership. Ohio State plans to concentrate its efforts on the COTC’s Newark Campus.

“The COTC offers associate degrees and certifications and also general educational courses,” Skowrunski said.

“KSU will bring a four-year degree to the table,” she said. “We’ve been missing that four-year partner here at Coshocton.”

The COTC Coshocton campus was started three-and-a-half years ago with only 175 students and has since grown by 1,600 percent.

“We’re a huge success story,” Skowrunski said.

The COTC Coshocton Campus offers more than 75 classes at 12 satellite locations around the county, but all classes will be consolidated into one location in the fall of 2007 – the former Inn at the historic Roscoe Village.

As part of the tentative 2+2 program, students will start at Kent State as juniors and will work toward earning a Bachelor of Science in Technology degree after completion of two years of course work at COTC.

If the pending relationship between Kent State Tuscarawas and the COTC is followed through, then the Coshocton campus will form a tri-college partnership with Muskingum College.

The new home of the Coshocton campus will be located at 200 N. Whitewoman St. and is named Montgomery Hall because of the Montgomery Foundation’s donations. The late Edward and Frances Montgomery had worked to restore the village and had the building, formerly an inn, built in 1982.

Testa said the building needs renovation to four floors. As part of the Coshocton Capital Campaign, the campus is more than halfway to raising its $5 million dollar goal for the renovations and purchase price of the building. Construction should be completed in August 2007. The facility will accommodate more than 600 students from 13 different counties.

Kent State Tuscarawas and the COTC plan to meet in the near future to formalize the partnership.

“This is an excellent opportunity for us,” said Fran Haldar, assistant dean at Kent State Tuscarawas. “We want to do more of these partnerships in the future to give more students what we have to offer.”

Contact regional campus reporter Alaina Robbins [email protected].