News Announcement
For further information please contact
Cheryl L. Kight - Vice President, Marketing

Columbus, October 30, 2007

Programs Funded by AT&T, JPMorgan/Chase, Timken Foundation of Canton and UPS ImprovMinority Student Recruitment/Retention at Ohio Independent Colleges

At 4:30 p.m. on October 30 in the third floor lobby of the Riffe Center in Columbus, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (AICUO) and The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) will provide a “Success in Diversity” reception for Ohio legislators to report on the successful outcomes of the OFIC Diversity Initiative.

Representatives of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Capital University and Otterbein College will comment on the benefits campuses and students have realized as a result of the OFIC initiative. 

First funded by the UPS National Venture Fund and then by grants from AT&T, JPMorgan/Chase, and Timken Foundation of Canton, the OFIC Diversity Initiative has continued and flourished since 2003.

Awards granted through this program support the planning and implementation of programs to increase the number of minority students recruited to enroll at Ohio’s independent colleges and to improve the rate of retention of these students.  The funding allows Ohio’s independent colleges to establish programs to inform minority populations about the possibility and accessibility of a college education and also to establish campus–based programs that create a supporting atmosphere for minority students, faculty and staff.  These programs encourage, monitor, and improve the enrollment and academic success of minority students.

Some of the programs, begun as pilot efforts, have proven so successful that they have been incorporated into the regular campus curricula and budgets.

OFIC president Jeffrey S. Wolf stated, “Collectively, UPS National Venture Fund, AT&T, JPMorgan Chase and Timken Foundation of Canton have provided more than half a million dollars in support of the OFIC Diversity Program.  Financial impact to participating campuses in increased enrollment and tuition has been estimated at more than $4.5 million.”  Project reports indicate that participating colleges and universities have also realized significant increases in retention rates for minority students.   The average persistence rate for program participants was nearly 94.3% versus 86.3% for non-participants in the 2005-2006 academic year and nearly 95% versus 87% for the total undergraduate student body in 2006-2007.

C. Todd Jones, President and General Counsel for AICUO says of the program, "This initiative further emphasizes the fact that higher education in Ohio is possible and attainable for all students. The successful implementation of many of these campus programs can serve as a model for other campuses and other states as they continue their diversity programs."

________________________________________________________________________

Success in Diversity

•        Diversity Programs funded through grants totaling $585,000 from:
 AT&T
 JPMorgan Chase
 Timken Foundation of Canton
 UPS National Venture Fund

•        Financial impact of the programs on OFIC member institutions more than $4,500,000

•        Approximately 7,000 individuals (students, faculty & staff) have been directly impacted by OFIC diversity programs

•        26 of Ohio’s independent colleges have benefited from OFIC’s diversity initiatives

•        95% minority student persistence rate as a result of retention projects