Owensboro Community and Technical College SACS Focused Report: Institutional Summary Form
SACS-COC INSTITUTIONAL SUMMARY FORM PREPARED FOR COMMISSION REVIEWS
Name of Institution: Owensboro Community and Technical College Accreditation Liaison: Nicholas Brake, Ph. D. Dean of Institutional Effectiveness 270.686.4472 Nick.brake@kctcs.edu Technical Support: Linda Calhoun Executive Administrative Assistant 270.686.4508 Linda.calhoun@kctcs.edu
Educational Programs
1. Level of Offerings
History and Characteristics
In 2002 Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) received approval from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for its Prospectus for Substantive Change detailing the consolidation of the Owensboro Community College, founded in 1986, with the Owensboro Technical College, which originated in 1929. The process of consolidation began in 1999, two years after the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that combined the state’s community colleges, formerly under the governance of the University of Kentucky, with the technical schools, which were affiliated with the State Workforce Development Cabinet. The newly created Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) includes 16 college districts across the Commonwealth, one of these being Owensboro Community and Technical College. The college offers general arts and sciences programs designed to provide the first two years of a baccalaureate degree program, and occupational-oriented programs designed to prepare students for immediate technical or semi-professional employment. Additionally, the college provides continuing education programs that include workforce training for business and industry, adult education in preparation for the GED, and community education. The college features an open door admission policy, flexible course schedules including day, evening, weekend, and off campus classes, and financial aid for qualified students. The area served by the college includes the Greater Owensboro region. The counties include Daviess, Hancock, Ohio, and McLean in Kentucky and Spencer County, Indiana. With a total population of approximately 140,000, the area has traditionally relied on agriculture, mining, and manufacturing as its economic foundation. Recent economic changes have promoted a transition toward a service-oriented economy and greater efforts toward economic diversification. Featuring cultural opportunities unusual for similar size communities, the area also benefits from strong community leadership in support of education with two private liberal arts colleges, a university extension, and the community and technical college.
List of Degrees
| Agricultural Technology
Business Administration
|
Engineering Technology
|
The college currently offers numerous diploma and certificates embedded within the Associate of Applied Science degree programs, a complete list of diploma and certificate programs are available in the College Catalog or through the OCTC Web Site at http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/Prospect/Programs.htm
Locations and Distance Education
The Owensboro Community and Technical College includes three campus locations in Owensboro, Kentucky. The Downtown Campus at 1501 Frederica St. houses manufacturing-oriented technical programs, including 50% or more of degrees in Industrial and Engineering Technology, Machine Tool Technology, and General Occupational/Technical Studies. The Downtown Campus is also the location of our Center for Community and Economic Development and Adult Education programs. The Southeastern Campus at 1901 Southeastern Parkway is the location of trade-oriented technical programs, which includes 50% or more of a degree in General Occupational/Technical Studies. The Main Campus at 4800 New Hartford Rd. houses the remainder of the college’s degree programs and most of the college’s general education and transfer courses. While the college offers courses in other locations of the Greater Owensboro region, students are unable to obtain 50% or more of the coursework toward a degree in any location besides the three campuses of OCTC.
The KCTCS system and OCTC are partners in the Kentucky Virtual University (KYVU) in delivering quality online courses. Through KYVU, OCTC offers a complete online Associate in Arts (Business Transfer Framework) and Associate of Applied Science degree in Information Technology (Microsoft Networking) taught through the Internet.
Additionally, OCTC participates in the Higher Education Telecommunications Consortium. The Consortium selects and administers all Kentucky Educational Television (KET) Telecourses. In these courses students view the course on KET and use an assigned text with guidance from the assigned faculty member.
Accreditation
The Owensboro Community and Technical College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. This accreditation also serves as the gatekeeper for federal funding. There are currently no sanctions applied or negative actions taken by any accrediting body during the previous two years. Following is a list of programs at OCTC and the accrediting agency by which they are accredited:
| Program | Accrediting Agency |
|---|---|
| Associate Degree Nursing | Kentucky Board of Nursing |
| Practical Nursing | Kentucky Board of Nursing |
| Surgical Technology | Liaison Council on Certification for the Surgical Technologist |
| Radiography | American Registry for Radiologic Technologists |
Relationship to the U.S. Department of Education
There are currently no limitations, suspensions, or termination by the U.S. Department of Education in regard to student financial aid or other financial aid programs during the previous three years.
Quality Enhancement Plan
Faculty, staff, and students have engaged in discussion, research, and data collection about student learning at Owensboro Community and Technical College over the past twenty months, laying the foundation for the OCTC Quality Enhancement Plan. Through these efforts, the themes of student responsibility, clear expectations, and the need for “connected” learning and student experiences emerged. While the specifics of the plan are still in development, the words Going Higher! Clear Expectations encompass the key objectives of the QEP: 1) to help students connect to the college, community, and world, 2) to help them connect what they learned in one class to another class, to the workplace, and to their lives, and 3) to provide them direction by making our expectations—as well as those of employers, other educational institutions, and society as a whole—clear. The initiatives of the Quality Enhancement Plan will be built directly into the 2005-10 OCTC Strategic Plan, as two of the ten categories of college objectives in the coming five years.