News and Events

Purpose

Charged by the Chief Academic Officers, the SOCHE Accessibility & Disability Services Committee is responsible for:

• Exploring collaboration in the areas of disability services to respond to students’ requests for accommodations, ADA compliance and cross-registration issues
• Providing and offering professional support and renewal for those who wish to enhance student, faculty and staff success through involvement in an inter-institutional and interdisciplinary community of peers
• Identifying trends and issues that affect teaching and learning, and prepare faculty and staff to meet them
• Engaging members of the academic community in the collaborative, scholarly practice of supporting the needs of people with disabilities.

Formerly known as the “Disability Services Committee,” the group voted in spring 2023 to change the committee title to be more inclusive and indicative of the services they provide to students. Thus, the committee title was changed to “Accessibility & Disability Services Committee.”

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Accessibility & Disability Services Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Purpose

The SOCHE Articulation Council was initiated by the Chief Academic Officers to develop, enhance, and expand varying strategies to improve the quality of transfer among SOCHE institutions. It is the vision of the Chief Academic Officers and the Articulation Council that SOCHE institutions will be the leaders in Ohio in assisting students in transferring credit between colleges and universities.

Key areas to facilitate this process include:

• General education transferability.
• Transfer student advising.
• Availability of academic programs.

Mission

The Articulation Council, initiated by the Chief Academic Officers, develops, enhances, and expands strategies to improve the quality of transfer among SOCHE institutions and assists students in transferring credit between colleges and universities.

Key areas to facilitate this process include:

• Fostering collaboration among institutions
• Providing opportunities for professional development
• Serving as a clearinghouse for statewide and national developments in articulation and transfer

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Articulation Council meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per school year, with additional meetings as needed to plan the annual Articulation & Transfer Conference. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this council.

How to Articulate

Transferring credits from one institution to another can be a confusing process, so the SOCHE Articulation Council has worked to provide you with resources to simplify it. We recommend that you begin with the FAQ’s, which provide answers to common transfer questions.

Frequently Asked Questions about Transferring:

Traditional Students (High School to College)
Non-Traditional Students (Adult Transfers)
College to College Transfers

Definition of Common Terms

An Articulation Agreement is a formalized agreement between two institutions which outlines the general transferability of students, courses and credits and facilitates movement of students from the sending institution to the receiving institution.

A Program-to-Program Agreement (or Parallel Program) is a program of study which articulates how courses at the sending institution transfer toward requirements for a specific program at the receiving institution.

The Ohio Transfer and Articulation Policy is intended to facilitate transfer from one Ohio institution to another. The entire policy is available on the Ohio Board of Regents web page.

The Ohio Transfer Module (OTM) is a subset or complete set of general education requirements that will transfer from one Ohio public institution to another. The Ohio Transfer Module includes courses in English composition, mathematics, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences.

Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs) are composed of courses and learning outcomes. The purpose of the TAG is to allow students to transfer, in a simple and direct manner, a core of courses that will count toward the major program.

Career Technical Credit Transfer Guides (CTAGs) help more high school and adult career-technical students to go to college and enter with college credit. Students who successfully complete specified programs technical programs are eligible to have technical credit transfer to public colleges and universities. This transfer of credit is described in Career-Technical Assurance Guides (CTAG). CTAGs are advising tools that assist students moving from Ohio secondary and adult career-technical institutions to Ohio public institutions of higher education.

Transferology is a nation-wide network designed to help students explore their college transfer options. It houses an equivalency system that allows students to determine the transferability of courses from one institution to another.

Why should you develop articulation agreements?

• To encourage and enhance interest in post secondary education for high school students
• To facilitate transfer from one institution to another
• To avoid duplication of resources
• To promote completion of degrees
• To create linkages and fosters partnerships within the learning community

When should you articulate?

• When you receive a high number of transfer students from one institution.
• When you are sharing the same information repeatedly to prospective students and advisors at other colleges.
• When you want to formalize transfer equivalencies.
• When you want to recruit transfer students from a particular institution.

Before Getting Started

• Determine to and from where your students are transferring.
• Consider what credits you accept from those institutions.
• Gather what has been established about transfer credits from these institutions.
• Assess the climate on campus and interest in creating articulation agreements.
• Gather support from appropriate administrators, staff and faculty at your institution.
• Determine the interest at the sending institution in creating agreements.

The Steps to Articulation

1. Connect with the sending institution
2. Create a general articulation agreement
3. Evaluate all courses from the sending institution
4. Build parallel program agreements
5. Build course-by-course guides, if appropriate
6. Inform students of new opportunities available

See the steps in detail.

Purpose

The SOCHE Career Services Committee collaborates to support students and alumni by providing career and professional development resources, services, experiences and community connections that promote the essential information, skills, and behaviors necessary for career success.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Career Services Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per school year. Contact Patty Buddelmeyer via email at patty.buddelmeyer@soche.org for upcoming meeting dates, committee information, and to join this committee.

Click here to view Regional Career Fair Dates

Purpose

The SOCHE College Credit Plus Committee is a new initiative designed to provide support for higher education personnel involved in supporting the State of Ohio’s College Credit Plus (CCP) program.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE College Credit Plus (CCP) Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per school year. Contact Mindy Claggett via email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for upcoming meeting dates, committee information, and to join this committee.

Organization/Membership

The Council of Chief Academic Officers consists of representatives of the academic units of SOCHE member institutions and, therefore, should be recognized as the organizational unit with the primary responsibility for the initiation, review, and approval of SOCHE programs.

Purpose

The major purposes of the SOCHE Council of Chief Academic Officers are:

• To foster communication and enhance networking among the SOCHE Chief Academic Officers and their constituent groups.
• To provide opportunities for professional growth and development among members and constituent groups.
• To provide a forum for discussing regional issues of concern to member institutions.
• To provide leadership for collaborative partnerships that will benefit the region.
• To serve as a communication link with other SOCHE Councils/Committees.

Activities

The Council of Chief Academic Officers assists in the development, review, and approval of existing and new programs and activities, including:

• Student Cross Registration
• Collaborative Grant Proposals
• Articulation Agreements
• Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops

The Council of Chief Academic Officers assists in communication with other standing committees, including:

• Student Affairs Officers
• Library Directors
• Faculty Development
• Marketing & Public Relations
• Registrars
• Diversity & Inclusive Excellence
• Articulation
• Retention and Completion
• Academic Advising

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Council of Chief Academic Officers meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Purpose

The Council of Registrars will be a forum to collaborate, to garner feedback from each other, professional development, knowledge, and a regional opportunity to network with colleagues. The Council of Registrars maintains, monitors, and enhances the Cross-Registration program and develops the registration process(es) and standard form used at all the campuses.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Council Registrars meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this council.

Purpose

The SOCHE Council of Student Affairs Officers serves as a forum for discussion and collaboration on topics and issues affecting the region’s higher education community by:

• Providing professional support and renewal for those who wish to enhance student-centered learning and development
• Identifying trends, issues, policies and regulations that affect students and staff and developing strategies to address these needs
• Utilizing regional student affairs professionals as a key professional development resource
• Engaging members of the student affairs profession in the collaborative examination of their practices
• Sharing information from our campuses to develop strategies to expand and enhance students’ access to higher education
• Making recommendations for possible programming in current areas of concern for the student affairs profession

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Council of Student Affairs Officers meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this council.

Vision

Establish and enhance Southwestern Ohio’s reputation as a national leader in cybersecurity education, research, and private and public partnerships.

Mission

The Cybersecurity Consortium of Southwestern Ohio will serve as a highly valued Cincinnati-Dayton Regional Corridor resource for education, research, and workforce development in cybersecurity and information assurance.

Scheduled Meetings

Contact Patty Buddelmeyer by phone at (937) 258-8890 or by email at patty.buddelmeyer@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates, committee information, and to join this committee.

Chair, Cybersecurity Consortium of SW Ohio
Thomas Skill
University of Dayton

Vice Chair, Education
Robert Mills
Air Force Institute of Technology

Vice Chair, Research
John Franco
University of Cincinnati

Vice Chair, Workforce Development
Vance Saunders
Wright State University

Visit CinDay Cyber

Purpose

The SOCHE Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Committee was created as the “Diversity Initiatives Committee” in 2001, with a name change in 2014.

The committee:

• Enables the creation and maintenance of professional networks between SOCHE member campuses that will develop a consortium-wide approach to the needs of creating educational equity
• Provides professional support and renewal for those who wish to enhance their skills through involvement in an inter-institutional and interdisciplinary community of peers
• Encourages dialogue about how various aspects of diversity impact the campus life experience, and identify trends and issues that campus climate and town/gown relations and, prepare students, administrators, faculty, and staff to meet them
• Enables productive exchanges of information about learning and teaching in both curricular and co-curricular contexts
• Identifies, disseminates, and fosters effective approaches to teaching, learning, and faculty development
• Develops consortial and public recognition programs for outstanding diversity programs on the member institution campuses.

Mission

To provide a structure across post-secondary education in southwest Ohio to support the development of the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of a multicultural society on the part of faculty, staff, students, and institutions of higher education.

Vision

Inter-culturally competent institutions of higher education in southwest Ohio that educate students from every sector of our broadly diverse community to be successfully employed and engaged global citizens.

Goals and Strategies

1. Create a professional network of individuals leading the work related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and development of intercultural competence for institutions of higher education in southwest Ohio
   • Hold regular meetings of representatives from each SOCHE member organization to carry out this work, this group will be referred to as the Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Committee
   • Provide social networking opportunities for individuals engaged in this work
2.  Provide professional development related to understanding diversity in higher education, recruiting and ensuring the success of students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds, particularly those historically underserved by post-secondary education and best practices related to achieving inclusive excellence
   • Hold an annual diversity conference in the region
   • Include training related to cultural competence as part of all SOCHE conferences and trainings
   • Invite experts on topics related to best practices in diversity and inclusion to Committee meetings
3. Provides forums for civil, deliberative dialogues about difficult diversity issues facing society and our campuses
   • Support and encourage the participation on the part of members of individual campus communities in these types of critical conversations taking place at institutions other than their own
4. Promote multicultural programming and events sponsored by SOCHE member institution
   • SOCHE staff will develop, update and publish a central repository of current diversity-related events sponsored by associated institutions of higher education
   • Members of the Committee will inform their respective campuses of diversity-related events happening around the region and facilitate their participation

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Diversity & Inclusive Excellence Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Purpose

The SOCHE Faculty Development Committee consists of representatives from SOCHE member institutions and focuses on planning and evaluating professional development opportunities that address faculty issues. The committee explores important trends and issues of interest to higher education, discussing best practices on curricular, organizational development, and faculty development, in addition to their implementation on member campuses. The committee provides input on and helps promote the SOCHE Excellence Awards process, in addition to facilitating special topics forums.

Online Faculty Development Resources

This section serves as a repository for member-recommended online resources that support teaching and faculty development.

“Preparing for Flexible Teaching” (University of Dayton)
“Teachers Essential Guide to Zoom” (CommonSense.org)

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Faculty Development Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Purpose

The mission of the SOCHE Financial Aid Committee is to foster financial aid on member campuses. Given the many social, economic and environmental challenges that face our campuses and the communities we serve, a transition to financial aid in operations and academics is imperative. As such, this committee has formed to address the complexities of creating meaningful, lasting change at our institutions.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Financial Aid Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately twice per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Purpose

The SOCHE Graduate Studies Committee members collaborate to address the needs of universities in attracting and retention of graduate students.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Graduate Studies Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately twice per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mackenzie Lawson by email at mackenzie.lawson@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates, committee information, and to join this committee.

Purpose

The SOCHE Library Council seeks to be a networking community of library leaders committed to fostering the examination and discussion of library issues and trends for the benefit of its members.

Organization

Membership

SOCHE membership entitles an institution to full participation in the Library Council, which is comprised of the library directors/chief librarians (or designees) appointed from member institutions.

Activities

The Council shall regularly hold meetings and events consistent with its purpose. To accomplish its purpose, the Council may host speakers at professional development events and/or participate in other SOCHE events and conferences. The Conference Planning Committee shall meet with a frequency necessary to carry out its responsibilities in planning the event.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Library Council meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this council.

Mission

The primary objective of the SOCHE Retention and Completion Committee is to provide a forum to share, discover, identify, and help develop effective and strategic policies, practices, and processes that will enhance and support the student experience from admission to achievement of academic goals at SOCHE colleges and universities.

Purpose

The primary objective of the SOCHE Retention and Completion Committee is to provide a forum to share, discover, identify, and help develop effective and strategic policies, practices, and processes that will enhance and support the student experience from admission to the accomplishment of academic goals at the SOCHE colleges and universities.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Retention and Completion Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Purpose

The purpose of the SOCHE Title IX Committee is to facilitate a forum to discuss current issues, trends, regulations, and best practices as it relates to Title IX regulations. Members shall gain value in their membership by establishing professional networks, sharing ideas, struggles, resources, and discussing programs.

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Title IX Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately twice per year, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.

Committee Charge

Started in 2015, the SOCHE Veteran and Military Service Committee is charged with educating, developing, and suggesting policy, programming and GI Bill related practices that support student veterans and military connected students transitioning to college, being successful during college, and successfully transitioning out of college. Our focus includes:

• Considering joint policy (suggestions/endorsements) that the group can take to their campuses
• Sharing resources for staff/faculty/administrators who work with veterans and active duty military
• Programs that support campus education about the needs of veterans
• Joint/shared programming among/between institutions
• Updates on benefit changes, best practices for benefit allocation
• Support for financial literacy education for student veterans

Scheduled Meetings

The SOCHE Veteran and Military Service Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per year. Contact Sandra Wild by phone at (937) 258-8890 or by email at sandra.wild@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates, committee information, and to join this committee.

Advisory Committee

Seth Gordon (Wright State University) and Andrea Patterson (Franklin University)

The Women’s Centers Committee is the first joint committee of the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities (GC3) and the Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE). The committee gathers to network, share resources and best practices, and support each other in their campus and community efforts.

The GC3/SOCHE Women’s Centers Committee Goals are as follows:

1. To provide opportunities for Women’s Center staff to meet on a regular basis and provide campus updates, exchange ideas and identify areas of common concern
2. To serve as a resource for Women’s Centers in the region, state, and/or nation on an ongoing basis
3. To identify and pursue 1-2 strategic initiatives for each academic year
4. To create, analyze, and disseminate knowledge around existing data and data still needed to inform the work of Women’s Centers

Scheduled Meetings

The Women’s Centers Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately once per quarter, with other meetings as requested. Contact Mindy Claggett by email at mindy.claggett@soche.org for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.