Five Colleges of Ohio facts for kids

The Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc. is a special group of five private colleges in Ohio, United States. These colleges work together to make education better for their students. They officially started in 1995. This group helps the colleges share ideas and resources. This way, they can offer great learning and cultural experiences.

Member Colleges in Ohio

The Five Colleges of Ohio group includes these five schools:

• Denison University, located in Granville, Ohio
• Kenyon College, located in Gambier, Ohio
• Oberlin College, located in Oberlin, Ohio
• Ohio Wesleyan University, located in Delaware, Ohio
• The College of Wooster, located in Wooster, Ohio

History of the Ohio Five Group

People started calling these schools the Ohio Five a long time ago, in the early 1900s. Even before they had any official agreement, newspapers used this name. It was like they were hinting that these schools, known for their good academics and sports, would form a team.

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  The Church of the Holy Spirit at the Kenyon College
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  Denison's Swasey Chapel
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  Oberlin's Memorial Arch
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  Elliott Hall at Ohio Wesleyan
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  Kauke Hall at The College of Wooster

In the early 1990s, the five colleges started talking about working together. They officially formed their group on June 30, 1995. They received money from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help them get started. This money helped them create a shared library system. It also helped them set up how they would manage the group. Plus, they looked into sharing digital pictures and videos. This is how The Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc. became a real organization.

The five colleges work together in several important ways:

• Academic Programs (about learning and classes)
• Administrative Programs and Technology (about how the colleges are run and use computers)
• Libraries (about books, research, and digital resources)

Academic Programs and Student Opportunities

The colleges have worked together on many projects. These projects help create new courses, let teachers work together, and give students cool chances to learn.

Language Learning Projects

• Foreign Language Technology Project (1996-2002): This project used technology to help students learn foreign languages better. It lasted four years and received money from the Mellon Foundation.
• Language Enrichment and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (2015-present): This program brought new teachers to the colleges to help with languages. It also let current teachers work together on teaching and research. Later, some advanced Chinese language classes were even shared online among four of the colleges.

Curriculum Development Projects

• Teagle Creativity and Critical Thinking Assessment (2005-2006): This project helped the colleges figure out how well students were learning to be creative and think deeply.
• Teagle Curricular Coherence Project (2015-2019): This project helped students understand their classes better. It offered ways for them to complete their general education requirements in a clear way.

Student Research and Internships

• Ohio Five-OSU Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) (2018-present): This program gives science students from the Five Colleges a chance to do summer research. They work in labs at Ohio State University.
• Stanford-Ohio Five Collaboration: This partnership offers internships at a special science lab called the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).

Faculty Collaboration

• Ohio Five Dance Workshops (2014-present): These workshops support an annual event. Teachers and students from the colleges can show off their dance performances.

Administrative Programs and Cost Savings

Since 2012, the Ohio Five colleges have worked together to save money and make things run smoother.

Joint Purchasing and Management

In 2012, they decided to use a shared online system for buying things. This system helps them manage purchases and contracts across all colleges. It also helps them save money by buying things together. In 2014, they received money from the Mellon Foundation to set up this system. In its first year (2015-2016), this program saved about $500,000! By 2017-2018, they were using the system to manage over $4.4 million in spending.

Since 2014, the colleges have also shared an online system for managing repairs and maintenance. This helps them keep track of work and costs for their buildings.

Other Shared Services

The colleges also work together on other important areas. These include managing risks, planning for emergencies, and training staff on important rules like Title IX. They also share ideas about information technology. The Ohio Five also has a job site. This site lists job openings for teachers and staff at all five colleges.

Libraries and Digital Resources

Chalmers Library at Kenyon College

The libraries at Denison University, Kenyon College, Ohio Wesleyan University, and The College of Wooster share a special computer system. It is called CONSORT. This system helps them share books and other resources easily. It also helps them work together on databases and publications. Oberlin College has its own library system called OBIS.

Since the Five Colleges started, their libraries have worked together. They support the CONSORT system. They also help students learn how to use digital information and do digital research.

Joint Library Projects

• Information Literacy Web Tutorials (1998): This project created online lessons. These lessons helped students learn how to find and use information well.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation also gave a lot of support for three projects about digital learning:

• Integrating Informational Literacy into the Liberal Arts Curriculum (1999): This project helped create new ways for students to use information resources in their classes.
• Next Generation Library and Digital Collections (2009–2011): This project helped teachers and librarians create digital collections of materials.
• Digital Collections: From Projects to Pedagogy and Scholarship (2013-present): This project created digital tools. These tools help teachers and students with research, teaching, and learning. They use new ways of understanding media, sharing ideas, and managing information.

How the Five Colleges are Governed

The Five Colleges of Ohio is run by the presidents of the five colleges. They form the group's board of trustees. There are also special committees that help manage different parts of the group. These committees are led by important staff members from each college. They handle money, academic programs, library programs, and technology.

The Five Colleges of Ohio also has a full-time staff of five people. They manage the group's activities from offices located at different colleges. The main office is at Oberlin College.