Columbus State Community College is a community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 1987. The college has grown from an initial enrollment of 67 students in 1963, to its current enrollment of over 27,000 students over two campuses, nine regional learning centers and online courses.
Academics
Columbus State offers two-year career programs in more than 50 areas of business, health, public service, human service, engineering technologies, and facility maintenance as well as transfer programs for students interested in completing the first two years of a bachelor's degree, then transferring to a four-year university.
Campuses
The 70-acre Columbus campus is located near downtown Columbus, Ohio. It consists of 26 buildings, including the newest facility, The Discovery Exchange, which is the bookstore. The Delaware campus is located off of US 23 consisting of two buildings and great green space Delaware. In addition, Columbus State operates 6 off-campus centers in the suburban neighborhoods of Dublin, Westerville, Marysville, Grove City, Reynoldsburg, and southwest Columbus. The college has built a new satellite campus in Liberty Township of southern Delaware County. The first building was completed in 2010. The new building can accommodate 2,500-3,017 students. In 2011, Columbus State partnered with The Ohio State University to allow students and faculty from both schools to work out of the new facility.
Student life
Newspaper
The Cougar News was a weekly student-run newspaper, debuting in February 2005. It was distributed on Wednesdays during autumn, winter, and spring quarters. In October 2008, Cougar News became a web-only publication, cougarnews.net., the Cougar News website is no longer active.
Literary magazine
Columbus State annually publishes a literary magazine called Spring Street. It comprises poetry, fiction, photography and other visual arts submitted by Columbus State students, faculty, staff, and alumni. 80 percent of the layout and publishing process is completed by students.
Athletics
The Cougars have four varsity-level sports teams, all of which compete at the National Junior College Athletic AssociationNJCAA Division II level. Before the 2007–08 academic year, the college had nine sports, but due to budget constraints, baseball, softball, track and field, cross country, and soccer were eliminated. At the same time, the women's volleyball and golf teams were promoted from the Division III level to their current level, allowing scholarships to be offered to student-athletes. The Cougars are also members of the Ohio Community College Athletic ConferenceOCCAC. In a span of three seasons, the volleyball program competed in three consecutive NJCAA DIII national tournaments, finishing as high as fourth nationally in 2004. The Cougars were paced by five all-Americans during that time. After moving to Division II, Head Coach Scott Nichols led the Lady Cougars to a 2008 NJCAA DII volleyball sixth-place finish and a 2009 NJCAA DII volleyball seventh-place finish. In March 2008, the Columbus State men's basketball team clinched their first ever visit to the NJCAA National Championship in Danville, Illinois. Head Coach Pat Carlisle won three games against highly ranked teams before losing the championship game to Mott Community College on March 22. In 2009, the men's basketball team finished in 9th place overall. Columbus State is also home to the 1993 and 2003 NJCAA DIII Men's Golf National Champions, 2010 and 2011 NJCAA Women's Golf National participants, 2001 NJCAA DIII Baseball National Runner-up, 2004 NJCAA DIII Women's Cross Country 3rd Place finish, and the 2001 and 2003 NJCAA DIII Women's Cross Country 6th Place finish.
