Owens Community College: Toledo (OCCT) Introduction and Academics

Introduction

Owens Community College, named for inventor Michael J. Owens, is a two-year college located in Toledo and Findlay, Ohio, and offers more than 130 programs of study. OCC’s first classes were offered in Toledo in 1965, with an enrollment of less than 200 students. In 1994, the college was chartered as a comprehensive state community college. Today, OCC is the fastest growing higher educational institution in Northwest Ohio. Owens’ two main campuses serve more than 45,000 credit and non-credit students a year.

Owens also has invested $6.2 million dollars to restructure its operations and methods to make the campus greener and more energy efficient. Owens is on target to reduce its annual energy expense by more than $835,000 while reducing the college’s carbon footprint. The College expects to reduce its energy consumption by 23 percent by the end of 2011.

Academics

Owens Community College offers its students 12 schools and departments— the Associate of Technical Studies, Fine & Performing Arts, Natural Sciences Technologies, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, School of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, School of Technology, Skilled Trades Technologies, Transportation Technologies, and Workforce & Community Services.

The college’s more than 130 study options range from accounting to wildlife management, and new programs recently added to the academic offerings include commercial photography, a baking and pastry certificate program.

The Owens Honors Program offers qualifying students small, interactive Honors Courses, Honors optional courses, individualized career advisement from faculty members, participation in an annual Honors Symposium, membership in the national honor society Phi Theta Kappa, an eligibility for scholarships at four-year colleges.

Students at Owens can received support through the college’s Center for Teaching & Learning Success, which was established in 2007 and provides a New Student Orientation, Learning Centers, a Testing Center, weekend classes, the Bridge to Success program, and the QuickStart to College program. The center also offers ABLE, Adult Basic and Literacy Education, a program funded by the State of Ohio and the U.S. Department of Education that provides classes at no cost to adults who want to improve their basic math and English skills in order to obtain a GED or improve their employment opportunities. ABLE classes are offered in several locations, dates, and times to serve the needs of the region’s adults. ABLE also provides a Student Success Mentor to each student ready to register for college classes. ABLE courses also provide free GED instruction.

Owens also offers a long list of online classes for students, ranging from Accounting 101 to Study Skills. Online degree programs include an Associate of Applied Business in accounting, business management and ebusiness, an Associate of Arts, general concentration; Associate of Applied Science, cancer information management; and Associate of Applied Science, registered nursing.

Online certificate programs available online including accounting, cancer information management, computed tomography, and medical transcription. Online classes include an optional orientation, and instructors can determine whether tests are administered online or in person on the campus.

The college created a general education core of courses in all programs in 2002. Programs include coursework in oral and written communications, math, and computer skills. Support is also provided in the areas of critical thinking, ethics, and diversity.

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Admissions

Owens has an open admission policy, which means that anyone can attend the college, with the exception of students entering its health programs, which have certain requirements. Owens has three semesters — spring, summer and fall — for which students can apply.

Students are not required to have a high school diploma or a GED to begin taking classes on campus, but in order to receive a degree or certificate, students must take and pass the GED exam before they graduate. Students can take classes while working on their GED, but most are encouraged to earn their diploma or GED before beginning classes at Owens.

New students who have not taken the ACT exam are required to take Owens’ COMPASS placement test, in order to be placed into the proper reading, writing, and math classes.

Ozone is Owens’ online source for email, class registration, schedules, tuition payments, financial aid information, grades and transcripts.

You can visit Owens Community College in small group sessions that last about one hour and introduce you to the campus and provides you with a brief tour of Student Services offices. An additional 45-minute campus walking tour is also available after the information session. Owens also holds special visit dates that include a campus tour and information session tailored to specific audiences like athletes and students who qualify for Ohio’s Postsecondary Enrollment Options program, which permits high school students to earn college credit while in high school.

Financial Aid

Owens Community College awarded approximately $1 million in scholarships to 650 students in the 2009-10 school year, and about 63 percent of Owens students receive some form of financial aid.

Scholarships offered to Owens students include the Academic Achievement Scholarship for students graduating from public and parochial high schools, as well as career centers, in the Ohio counties of Lucas, Wood, Hancock and parts of Ottawa; the Academic Excellence Scholarship for Ohio high school students; Owens Community College Foundation scholarships from the region’s businesses and individuals; the Foundation Success Grant, which covers institutional and general charges not covered by other grants for students who are recent graduates of certain high schools in the Owens region; Owens Athletic Scholarships for men’s baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s softball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball players; and the Student Leader Scholarship Program for students serving as student government officers and editor and assistant editor of The Owens Outlook, the campus newspaper.

Students

While there is no housing on the Owens campuses, the college does provide students with a list of apartments located nearby.

There are two dining halls on the Toledo campus — the Fireside Grill, which is located in College Hall, and the Jaguar Grill in the Student Health and Activities Center, also known as the SHAC. Both dining areas are closed on weekends and the Jaguar Grill is closed during the summer.

Owens has more than 70 student clubs and organizations, including health technology clubs, education clubs, nine honor societies, activity clubs, and special interest organizations. There is a student government on campus, the Black Student Union, a Gay Straight Alliance club, The Owens Outlook student newspaper, a gamers club, a drama club, and more.

Campus activities include visiting performers, an annual Martin Luther King panel discussion, Spring Fling, Battles of hte Bands, an environmental fair, on-campus karaoke, and the Owens Sailing Regatta.

The SHAC features an aerobics studio, weightlifting areas, a gym and indoor running/walking track, volleyball, tennis and basketball courts, a food court, a quiet area lounge, and a men’s and women’s basketball court. The SHAC is also the location of the college’s athletic competitions.

Owens also offers a variety of men’s, women’s and coed intramural programs, including volleyball, softball, three-on-three basketball, dodgeball, and flag football.

Athletics

The Owens Community College Express are members of the National Junior College Athletic Association. There are four men’s teams — baseball, basketball, golf and soccer — and four women’s teams — basketball, volleyball, soccer and softball.

Owens teams have competed in 23 NJCAA national championship tournaments and have won two national titles. In addition, the Express have won 46 Ohio Community College Athletic Conference championships. The men’s baseball team has won OCCAC championships in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and the women’s softball team were OCCAC champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The men’s golf team were OCCAC champions in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Owens athletic facilities are located at the Student Health and Activities Center, a six-building complex adjacent to a baseball/softball and soccer field complex. Opened in 2000, the SHAC houses athletic department offices, a basketball arena and a field house with workout facilities. The men’s golf team plays its home matches at Belmont Country Club in nearby Perrysburg.

Bibliography

“Athletics: Owens Community College.” Welcome to Owens Community College. Owens Community College. Web. 19 June 2011.

Welcome to Owens Community College. Owens Community College. Web. 19 June 2011.

“Owens Community College – Perrysburg, Ohio/OH – Community College Review.” Community College Review – Profiles of Community & Junior Colleges. Community College Review. Web. 19 June 2011.

Owens Community College: Toledo