Ohio State receives $1.6 million Ohio Board of Regents award for Internship/Co-Op Programs

Ohio State will participate in a $1,569,637 award from the Board of Regents' Ohio Means Internships and Co-Ops program. The Ohio State-led JobReady internships and Co-Ops for Ohio Industry will create 416 new internships and co-ops across Ohio in the areas of energy, automotive, food processing, and financial services.  OSU partnered with Columbus State Community College, North Central State College, and 82 private-sector employers to develop the proposal, whose key elements are creating new paid, course-bearing internships; delivering modules that address employer-identified gaps between the classroom and the workplace; and providing for cross-institution career services.


Below is the orginal press release:

Ohio Announces Internship/Co-Op Program Award Recipients
Grant Money Designed to Help Business/Education Partners Fill Workforce Needs
 
COLUMBUS, OH – December 13, 2012– Up to 3,500 students at Ohio colleges and universities will benefit from co-ops and internships created through an $11 million state investment with matching dollars from employers throughout the state such as Honda, Procter & Gamble, Owens Corning and First Energy.
 
Recipients of the funds – designed to award business and education partners that enhance learning opportunities for students in Ohio through co-ops and internships – have been announced, contingent upon approval by the State of Ohio Controlling Board in January. The grants are part of Governor John Kasich’s workforce development strategies to align Ohio’s higher education curriculum with skills that are in demand by Ohio’s businesses.
 
“These awards are meant to provide Ohio employers with opportunities to benefit from the talents of Ohio’s college and career technical students,” said Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro. “And they’ll provide students with valuable internship or co-op experience.”
 
The state funding comes from casino license fees and is specifically for this purpose. Funding was awarded to 10 community colleges and 13 public or private universities and is projected to create up to 3,496 co-op and internship positions. Undergraduate programs are required to match 100 percent and graduate programs are required to match 150 percent of the awarded grant with private money. Lead applicants must partner with businesses from the following JobsOhio target industries – advanced manufacturing, aerospace/aviation, automotive, biohealth, energy, financial services, food processing, information technology, polymers and business functions such as logistics and research and development.
 
Ohio institutions of higher education will partner with up to 1,500 employers to provide paid and credited internships and co-ops to their students. Small, medium and large employers are included in the mix of places of employment for student interns and co-ops, and a complete list of participating businesses is available online at https://www.ohiohighered.org/omic/employer-partnerships.
 
Schools receiving the awards, the amount received, the programs targeted and brief descriptions are as follows:
 

• Antioch College - $140,676, creates up to 12 co-op employer relationships for 36 students in the Ohio food production/processing industry.
   
• Bowling Green State University - $697,260, will increase the number of small businesses utilizing co-op/internship opportunities in northwest Ohio in computer science, supply chain management and information technology.
   
• Central State University - $18,000, will expand an existing student support program that matches students with potential business and industry employers.
   
• Cincinnati State Technical and Community College - $123,000, builds new co-op program infrastructure at the Butler County Workforce Center in Middletown.
   
• Clark State Community College - $28,965, will support up to 20 interns with embedded faculty and technology staff at the Advanced Virtual Engine Test Cell Inc. (AVETEC), a not-for-profit public benefit research organization in Springfield that helps local technology employers solve business problems.
   
• Cleveland State University - $385,439, will place up to 102 student interns in northeast Ohio businesses while recruiting faculty mentors to connect classroom learning and workplace practices.
   
• Cuyahoga Community College - $186,677, will support local employers with outreach and technical assistance and support up to 105 student interns.
   
• Kent State University - $724,553, will support up to 200 student interns and improve the intern tracking system to discover new opportunities and develop a strong feedback loop between the university and area companies. Will also create an Intern Advisory Board to help improve internship experiences.
   
• Lorain County Community College/Stark State College - $444,813, will support the creation of up to 135 new internship/co-op opportunities while creating employer preference for community college talent and developing the Career Advantage Program and the Career Advantage Transcript Designation.
   
• Marion Technical College - $6,750, will expand the co-op coordinator position from half- to three-quarter time to grow the number of students in the Cooperative Education Experience Program in Business & IT.
   
• Miami University - $81,000, will allow the Engineering Technology and Computer IT programs at Miami’s Middletown and Hamilton campuses to increase the number and degree areas of co-ops and internships that are paid and for credit.
   
• The Ohio State University - $1,569,637, will allow businesses to receive cost share of wages on a sliding size scale and students to receive credit and wages for internships, plus stipends to offset other costs such as transportation and housing.
   
• Rhodes State College - $261,662, will support the Honda-created Ohio Manufacturing Education Collaborative of regional community colleges to support talent needs of manufacturers and processors in the region to help close the skills gap while providing students with internships.
   
• Sinclair Community College - $203,140, will create new internships in manufacturing, IT and biohealth in the Dayton region by providing students with scholarships and businesses with access to Sinclair students.
   
• Southern State Community College - $236,450, will support a partnership between six educational institutions and 15 businesses to create up to 80 positions, align curriculum and create pathways from high school to adult career centers to associate and bachelor’s degrees.
   
• Terra Community College - $69,145, will expand infrastructure to enhance future co-op placements with area businesses and increase student, business and faculty participation in co-ops.
   
• University of Akron - $932,571, will educate employers about the benefits of co-ops and internships using individual contacts, regional partners, workshops and conference calls, and will use one-time seed money to provide a match for employer contributions to support a new co-op or internship program.
   
• University of Cincinnati - $1,822,373, will create hundreds of internships and allow the university to continuously monitor the development and needs of the industry clusters in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce, and incentivize students and employers with scholarships for placements.
   
• University of Dayton - $253,995, will add up to 20 internships and enhance the help given by the UD Engineering Co-op office to UD and Sinclair Community College students in obtaining co-op and internship positions.
   
• University of Toledo - $896,898, will create up to 150 internships and a self-sustaining and adaptable co-op and internship model that includes aggressive outreach to employers and addresses entrepreneurship and work-ready skills.
   
• Wright State University - $1,304,631, will create up to 100 internships and align with the Board of Regents’ Aerospace & Aviation Workforce Strategy Report to implement curricular reform and institutional reform, influence high school students with co-ops, and provide more work-based learning.
   
• Youngstown State University - $573,300, will increase work-based learning in northeast Ohio, Appalachia and the Mahoning Valley in Advanced Manufacturing, and provide partial wage reimbursement to employers for new student internships.

About the Board of Regents
The Ohio Board of Regents is the state agency that coordinates higher education in Ohio. The agency is directed by its Chancellor, who is a member of the Governor of Ohio's cabinet. The Chancellor, with the advice of the nine-member Board of Regents, provides policy guidance to the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly, advocates for the University System of Ohio and carries out state higher education policy.