Marion Technical College, (Marion Tech or MTC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down slig ...

. It shares a campus with

Ohio State University at Marion Ohio State University at Marion (OSU Marion or OSUM) is a satellite campus of Ohio State University in Marion, Ohio. The campus was founded in 1957. Its campus is located north of Columbus and is shared with Marion Technical College. Ther ...

. Founded in 1970 with classes beginning in 1971, MTC has awarded over 7,500 associate degrees. The college offers associate degrees, certificates, and transfer programs in the areas of Business, Engineering, Information Technology, Public Service, Health, and Arts and Sciences. As of 2023, it offered one Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. The college practices

open admissions Open admissions, or open enrollment, is a type of unselective and noncompetitive college admissions process in the United States in which the only criterion for entrance is a high school diploma or a certificate of attendance or General Educati ...

. Some Marion Tech professors teach courses at local high schools for qualified students to earn college credits. High school students comprise 55% of MTC's enrollment, making them the student majority and the cause of increased enrollment at the college over the past decade.

Academics

MTC is accredited by

The Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

Transferable programs

In 2009 the college began offering an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree and an

Associate of Science Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japa ...

degree. These "pre-bachelor's" degrees comprise liberal arts and sciences education that enable students to transfer to four-year public colleges in the state of Ohio with the first two years of a bachelor's degree complete. This transfer process is guaranteed by the

Ohio Board of Regents The Ohio Board of Regents was created in 1963 by the Ohio General Assembly to: provide higher education policy advice to the Governor of Ohio and the Ohio General Assembly; develop a strategy involving Ohio's public and independent colleges and ...

via the Transfer Assurance Guide (TAG). In addition to TAG courses, MTC also has articulation agreements with select private colleges in the state of Ohio. For instance, the articulation agreement with

Heidelberg University (Ohio) Heidelberg University is a private university in Tiffin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850, it was known as "Heidelberg College" until 1889 and from 1926 to 2009. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and enrolled 1,000 students ...

located in

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in Seneca County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Developed along the Sandusky River, Tiffin is located about southeast of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 17,953 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, states that students who have earned an associate of arts or associate of science degree from MTC and meet the admission requirements of Heidelberg University (Ohio) will be admitted with full junior status. The articulation agreement with

Franklin University Franklin University is a private university with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1902 to serve the needs of students beyond traditional undergraduate age. On-site courses are offered at the university's campu ...

states that students who complete an associate degree at MTC can have their credits transferred to Franklin University whereupon they can begin working on and complete an online bachelor's degree from Franklin.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) is a Private university, private Christian university in Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States, with satellite locations in the surrounding area. It was founded in 1968 by the Church of the Nazarene and offers ...

(MVNU) in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Kokosing River, northeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 16,956 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Th ...

and MTC have an articulation agreement which allows MTC associate degree graduates to transfer their credit to MVNU into their bachelor's degree program. In May 2011,

Otterbein University Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio, United States. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Brethren founder, Philip William Otterbein. It has been as ...

Westerville, OH Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus as well as the home of Otterbein University, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. Westerville was once known as "The ...

signed an articulation agreement with MTC that states they will admit and confer full junior status upon any student who completes an associate degree with a 2.0 or higher at MTC.

Distance learning

As early as 2001, students in a

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

master's program were able to attend classes at

electronically from the videoconferencing room at Marion Technical College.

Awards and recognition

In 2009 MTC was awarded the ''William Over College Access Collaboration Award'' from the Ohio College Access Network (OCAN). The award is given annually "to a college access program, resource center or high school dedicated to building collaborative relationships to help more Ohioans access, pay for and enroll in educational programs beyond high school." In 2011 MTC was awarded two ''Innovation Awards'' from the Center for Transforming Student Services (CENTSS). One award was given because of the college's Orientation Reference Guide created by Brian Liles, and the other award was given because of the college's official blog, ''The MTC Insider''. According to CENTSS, Innovation Awards are given to "college and university student services professionals hohave used tools, creative strategies, and fresh thinking to design, develop, implement, and maintain online student services that have produced measureable results." The college gained some national press in the spring of 2018 when it announced a new policy that will award students free tuition for their second year if they complete at least 30 hours of "college-level" courses in their first year and earn at least a 2.5

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

. The college president credited the idea in part to a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

post in

Inside Higher Ed ''Inside Higher Ed'' is an American online publication of news, opinion, resources, events and jobs in the higher education sphere. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold it to Times Higher Education, itself owned by Inflexion Priv ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1970 Education in Marion County, Ohio Community colleges in Ohio 1970 establishments in Ohio Two-year colleges in the United States