PIQUA — With new projects underway, Edison State Community College reinforced a commitment to community partnerships, fiscal responsibility, and their students during their second annual State of the College address on Wednesday morning.
“It is always my pleasure to welcome members of the community onto our campus,” Edison State Community College President Dr. Doreen Larson said. Officials from Miami, Darke, and Shelby counties attended the State of the College address at Edison’s Piqua campus.
“The Edison State mission statement guides everything we do,” Larson said. Larson asked Miami County Commissioner Greg Simmons to read the mission statement, which was, “Edison State Community College provides the learning opportunities, support services, and commitment that enable students to complete their educational goals and realize their dreams.”
New projects coming forward include the development of the Robinson Student Career Center, which is expected to be open in 2019.
Edison is also working on opening a new branch in Troy, and that location’s first focus will be on providing courses on healthcare. They will partner closely with Dayton Children’s Hospital at this location, Larson said. The Troy branch will have 60,000 square feet of space to utilize. The programming with Dayton Children’s Hospital will take up approximately 12,000 square feet of space, so there is still room to grow and add more educational opportunities at that location. Edison is also planning to reactivate the Medical Assisting Certificate at this location, according to Larson.
Edison is also beginning a new partnership in Arcanum to open an agriculture education building in that part of Darke County.
In addition, Edison is developing a partnership with the Upper Valley Career Center on a veterinary technology program with a transfer option.
The state is also helping to fund grants and scholarships for short-term certificate programs at Edison. Certificate and short-term training options coming to Edison include Agriculture Certificate, Farm Management Certificate, Banking AAB, Banking Certificate, Clinical Laboratory Assistant Certificate, Medical Scribe Short-Term Technical Certificate, and more.
The college will also continue to support its apprenticeship programs, College Credit Plus program, and guided pathways for students.
“We don’t want them just experimenting in classes,” Larson said.
Larson also highlighted the Edison State Works program, which she described as businesses and the college “collaborating for mutual benefit.” She said it brings businesses to their campus and also brings students and education to businesses.
Edison is also maintaining its commitment to two-year associate’s degrees. When asked if the college had considered applying to provide four-year degree options, Larson did not explicitly say yes or no, but she maintained that their focus was two-year associate’s degrees.
“For Edison State … our main focus is doing what we do well,” Larson said, which she explained was short-term training programs and associate’s degrees. “They’re the ones that are in demand.”
Larson said that the college is also working on diversifying its enrollment, particularly with increasing their enrollment with adult students 25 years of age or older. This initiative is to target underutilized professionals to help them get on a better career path with access to short-term training and certifications. Their enrollment in this sector increased by 1 percent this past year.
Overall, Edison has a success rate of approximately 88 percent for students either earning a degree, earning a certificate, or transferring to a four-year college or university. “When a student enters Edison, they succeed,” Larson said.
Larson also went over how having Edison in the community impacted economic growth. The college produced an estimated economic impact of $67.6 million to the local economy through direct expenditures and purchases, according to Larson.
Edison also estimated that that they led to an increased employment in the counties of Miami, Darke, and Shelby counties by 988 people and $22.7 million in wages being paid.
The college generated approximately $848,000 in tax revenue growth through local, municipal, and county governments. The state of Ohio received approximately $2.8 million in increase gross receipts.
The college directly supports 842 jobs and indirectly supported another 146 jobs.
Direct expenditures by Edison for 448 employees equaled approximately $16,073,204 and indirect support of 52 jobs equaled $5,173,681.
Student spending on goods and services in the region totaled approximately $2,338,960.
Total student spending on education and related services was $43,499,168. Spending supported 370 jobs in local businesses and created 88 new jobs. Around $11 million in wages were generated as a result of student spending.
Larson said that Edison has the goal of being “essential and vital” to the community so that “even as the economy becomes strong, we become stronger.”
