Clark State should place more emphasis on working with students early on, she said, to make sure they are better prepared to transition to a four-year college of their choice or move directly into the workforce.
Placing more emphasis on making sure students earn a degree will be increasingly important due to recent changes in the state’s funding formula that ties dollars more closely to high graduation rates, she said.
Blondin said she spent much of the first year listening to area businesses and community leaders to see what kinds of programs and services Clark State can provide. The next step is to make sure the college is following through and placing its graduates in jobs in the region.
“The listening phase is over,” Blondin said.
Instead, she said Clark State needs to develop relationships with area businesses and four-year universities so students have a better idea of what courses and training they need to move forward the moment they step on campus.
“Our goal is to raise the educational attainment in our region,” Blondin said.
Overall, however, Blondin said Clark State has started several important programs since she took office.
Beginning this fall, Clark State will begin offering its new precision agriculture program, which was developed in a span of about six months. As part of the program, Clark State worked with the Ohio/Indiana UAS Center and SelectTech Geospatial Advanced Manufacturing to develop a curriculum and offer work experience for prospective students.
Students in the program will analyze data collected by drones to provide better solutions to issues like crop production and pest control, among other fields. The program is the first of its kind in Ohio and one of only about a dozen nationwide.
The college is important to the city because it employs hundreds of residents and provides training for the area’s workforce, Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland.
“I haven’t had a lot of direct personal contact with her, but I’ve been able to see what she’s done in the community,” Copeland said of Blondin. “She’s been doing a very good job of trying to get the college connected to the community and serving especially the employment needs of the community. That’s a key contribution a community college can make.”
Clark State is also expanding its presence in Greene County. Clark State opened a campus along Interstate 675 in Beavercreek in 2006, and has about 1,500 students at that campus.
Much of the growth Clark State has seen recently has occurred in Greene County.
(Next page: A growing trend)
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