Five Colleges of Ohio facts for kids

The Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc. is a special group of five private colleges in the state of Ohio, United States. These colleges are known as liberal arts colleges. This means they focus on a wide range of subjects, not just one specific career path.

The group was officially started in 1995. It's a non-profit organization. Their main goal is to help their member colleges work together. They share ideas and resources to make education even better for students.

What Are the Ohio Five Colleges?

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

How the Ohio Five Began

People started talking about the "Ohio Five" a long time ago. This was in the early 1900s. Newspapers often used the name. They saw these five schools as having similar strong reputations. This was true for both their academics and their sports teams.

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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

The colleges had informal talks in the early 1990s. Then, on June 30, 1995, they officially formed the group. A special grant helped them get started. This grant was from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It helped them create a shared library system. It also helped set up how the group would be managed. They also 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 many ways. They collaborate on school programs. They also work together on how they manage their schools and use technology. Their libraries also share resources.

Exciting Academic Programs

The colleges often team up for grants and projects. These projects help improve classes and learning. They also help professors work together. Plus, they create cool chances for students.

Learning Languages

The colleges have worked on projects to help students learn languages.

• The Foreign Language Technology Project (1996-2002) used technology to make language learning better.
• The Language Enrichment and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (2015-) brought in special teachers. These teachers helped students learn different languages. They also helped professors work together on teaching. In 2018-2019, they even tested sharing advanced Chinese classes online. Four colleges took part in this.

Developing New Classes

The colleges also work on making new and better classes.

• The Teagle Creativity and Critical Thinking Assessment (2005-2006) helped them figure out how well students were learning. It looked at how creative and good at thinking students were.
• The Teagle Curricular Coherence Project (2015-2019) helped students understand their classes better. It made it easier for them to choose courses that fit together.

Opportunities for Students

Students at these colleges get special chances.

• The Ohio Five-OSU Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) started in 2018. It lets science students do summer research. They work in labs at Ohio State University.
• There are also internship chances at Stanford University. These are for students interested in molecular biology.

Working Together for Professors

Professors also get to work together.

• The Ohio Five Dance Workshops started in 2014. They hold an annual show. Professors and students from all colleges perform dance.

How the Colleges Manage Things Together

Since 2012, the Ohio Five colleges have worked to save money. They found a way to buy things together. This is called a joint e-procurement solution. It helps them manage buying and contracts.

A grant in 2014 helped them set up this system. They even hired someone to run it. By 2015-2016, they saved about $500,000! In 2017-2018, they worked with over 4,300 suppliers. They spent over $4.4 million through this system.

Since 2014, they also share an online system for work orders. This helps them manage building maintenance. It also helps track how much they spend.

The colleges also work together on other important things. This includes safety planning and training. They also share information technology. The Ohio Five also has a job site. This site lists jobs at all five colleges.

Amazing College Libraries

Chalmers Library at Kenyon College

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

Since the group started, the libraries have worked closely. They support the CONSORT system. They also help students learn about digital information. They also help with digital research.

Library Projects

The libraries have done many joint projects.

• Information Literacy Web Tutorials (1998) helped students learn how to find and use information online.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation also helped with three big projects. These projects focused on digital learning.

• Integrating Informational Literacy into the Liberal Arts Curriculum (1999) helped students use information better.
• Next Generation Library and Digital Collections (2009–11) helped create digital collections. These were made by professors and librarians.
• Digital Collections: From Projects to Pedagogy and Scholarship (2013-) created digital tools. These tools help students and professors with research and learning. They also help with digital publishing.

How the Ohio Five is Run

The five college presidents lead The Five Colleges of Ohio. They act as the board of trustees. There are also special committees. These committees are led by important staff from each college. They oversee money matters, school programs, and library services. They also handle technology.

The Five Colleges of Ohio has a full-time staff of five people. They manage all the group's activities. Their main office is at Oberlin College.