Story By Van Mitchell
Reprinted Courtesy of the Stillwater NewsPress

‘Cooperatives Alliances’ Project OK’d

A pilot project approved by state regents aims to increase the number of high school students attending college and increase the number of people using federal, state and local resources.

The “cooperatives alliances” project is approved for Francis Tuttle Technology Center and Oklahoma City Community College; Southwest Technology Center and Western Oklahoma State College; and Autry Technology Center and Northern Oklahoma College.

“These kids are earning college credit while they are still in high school,” said Belinda McCharen, associate state CareerTech director. “We think it will really help the students be encouraged to complete their degrees.”

She said cooperative alliances are voluntary partnerships between a higher education institution and a technology center.
Under the alliance model, high school students must meet certain admission requirements but immediately receive college credit while completing high school, and technical courses will transfer statewide.

“It is an improvement and a deepening of the relationship between the technology centers and colleges,” McCharen said.

She said the state Board of Career and Technology Education is scheduled to consider the proposal April 28. (Note: The Oklahoma State Board of Career and Technology Education approved the Cooperative Agreement Alliances at its April 28 meeting.)

If the board approves the alliance agreements, pilot institutions will be able to enroll students for fall 2005. It is hoped that the alliances can be expanded statewide within three years, McCharen said.

Since 1988, colleges have been awarding college credit to technology center students through cooperative agreements. Currently, 335 cooperative agreements involving 122 associate in applied science programs are offered through 18 colleges and 29 technology centers in Oklahoma and two out-of-state technology centers.

McCharen said the cooperative agreements tend to be institution-centered and based on individual agreements between one higher education institution and one technology center for one specific associate in applied science program.

There are limitations and inconsistencies across the system for students and student data collection on degree completion is difficult.

“They (higher education) didn’t have a good mechanism to capture a student’s data,” she said. “So we couldn’t know how many students were going for degrees.”

McCharen said college credit is not transferable to other institutions, which does not provide flexibility for students.