Kent State University was awarded nearly $1 million in grant funds from the Ohio General Assembly to allow universities to develop programs and courses that support teachers interested in obtaining the qualifications needed to teach postsecondary courses.
The College Credit Plus grants from the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education provide eligible high school students the opportunity to earn credit from any public Ohio college or university and participating private colleges and universities, while also earning high school credit for the same class.
Kent State is one of 18 Ohio educational institutions awarded funding. Kent State University at Stark in partnership with the Stark County Educational Service Center received $498,442.08 in College Credit Plus Pathway One funding, and the Kent Campus received $499,092 in Pathway Two funding.
Bathi Kasturiarachi, assistant dean of academic affairs at Kent State Stark, explains that the College Credit Plus Pathway One teacher credentialing grant will allow qualified teachers in Northeast Ohio to join Kent State to complete graduate coursework. The participants will earn additional qualifications to deliver courses through College Credit Plus initiatives. The Pathway Two grant will enable Kent State to support professional development activities that will further strengthen the credentialing of a large number of high school teachers, Kasturiarachi says.
“Kent State University is pleased and honored to receive almost $1 million for two College Credit Plus grants,” Kasturiarachi says.
Kasturiarachi was the principal investigator for the College Credit Plus Pathway One Grant.
“This partnership will no doubt benefit many high school students by giving them access to high-quality college courses, opening up avenues to a successful transition to college,” Kasturiarachi says.
Jenya Soprunova, associate professor in Kent State’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, was the principal investigator for the College Credit Plus Pathway Two grant for the Kent Campus.
Andrew Tonge, chair of Kent State’s Department of Mathematical Sciences and co-principal investigator at the Kent Campus, says the grant will pay for tuition, fees, textbooks and professional development for the credentialing of teachers in the College Credit Plus program. The disciplines involved include math, modern and classical language studies, English and physics.
For more information about the College Credit Plus grant, visit www.ohiohighered.org/ccp/faqs.
