NKU, Cincinnati State presidents sign articulation agreement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2014

CONTACT:
Robert White
Media Relations/Communications Coordinator
Cincinnati State
(513) 569-4775 (office)
(859) 468-6640 (cell)
robert.white@cincinnatistate.edu
Chris Cole
Director of Marketing & Communications
Northern Kentucky University
(859) 572-6574
colec@nku.edu

NKU, Cincinnati State presidents sign articulation agreement 

Cincinnati State President O’dell M. Owens and Northern Kentucky University President Geoffrey S. 
Mearns today signed a comprehensive academic agreement designed to produce a smooth pathway for 
Cincinnati State students who wish to pursue a bachelor’s degree at NKU.
 
The agreement is the most comprehensive to date between the two institutions, and notable in that it 
involves academic standards across two state networks. 

“Today is a celebration. It is a celebration for our students,” President Mearns said, during today’s signing 
ceremony. “It reflects our shared mission to serve our students.”

President Owens said Cincinnati State and NKU are complementary institutions that have been labeled 
“great secrets” for far too long. Strengthening the partnership, he said, will help more students achieve 
success. “We are proud of the role we play in creating the middle class,” he said.     

Today’s signing ceremony signals the launch of the “CSTATE 2 NKU Program,” which has a number of 
features that will allow participating students to take advantage of resources at both schools. For 
example:

 It provides dual admission at NKU for Cincinnati State students who are in designated academic 
pathway programs. To date 13 such pathway programs have been identified, including 
Psychology, Social Work, Computer Information and Criminal Justice. More are in the works. 

 Participants in the dual admission pathway programs who complete an associate of arts or 
associate of science degree from Cincinnati State will be guaranteed admission to NKU as 
juniors, provided they have earned at least 60 semester credit hours at Cincinnati State.

 CSTATE 2 NKU participants may complete up to 12 credit hours of coursework on NKU’s 
campus while pursuing their associate’s degree – at the Cincinnati State tuition rate,  

 Students in the dual admission programs will have access to NKU campus services – including its 
student recreation center and library – while still at Cincinnati State.

 All Cincinnati State students will have on-campus access to visiting NKU academic advisors.

Cincinnati State has a longstanding relationship with NKU, as it does with most other four-year institutions 
in the region. In recent years the Clifton-based technical and community college has put an increased 
emphasis on developing articulation agreements designed to ease the process for its graduates who wish 
to pursue a baccalaureate degree after earning their associate’s degree. 

ABOUT NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
Northern Kentucky University is a major metropolitan university enrolling more than 15,000 associate, 
undergraduate, graduate, professional, and doctoral students in six colleges – the College of Arts and 
Sciences, the Haile/US Bank College of Business, the College of Education and Human Services, the 
College of Health Professions, the College of Informatics, and the Chase College of Law. NKU’s 
innovative academic programs and unparalleled commitment to student success both in the classroom 
and beyond have helped the university earn the designation of one of America’s Best Colleges by Forbes 
magazine six consecutive years.

ABOUT CINCINNATI STATE
Cincinnati State (www.cincinnatistate.edu) enrolls about 10,500 students and offers more than 130 
associate degree and certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering 
technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. Cincinnati State has one of the 
most comprehensive co-op programs among two-year colleges in the U.S. 

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