- Charter Oak State College
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Charter Oak State College 
Charter Oak State CollegeMotto Degrees Without Boundaries Established 1973 Type Public President Ed Klonoski Provost Dr. Shirley Adams Students 2,278 [1] Location New Britain, Connecticut, USA Campus Online Former names Charter Oak College Affiliations New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education Website CharterOak.edu Charter Oak State College is a public liberal arts college in New Britain, Connecticut and is named for Connecticut's famous Charter Oak. The college is located across Paul Manafort Drive from Central Connecticut State University. The college was founded in 1973 by the Connecticut Legislature to provide an alternative way for working students to earn associate and baccalaureate degrees.
The College is approved by the Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education and regionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and functions under the degree-granting authority of Connecticut's Board for State Academic Awards.
The college operates on a model similar to Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey and Excelsior College in New York, providing online degree completion programs.
Charter Oak has awarded over 11,000 degrees since its founding in 1973.[1]
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Role and scope
The Board for State Academic Awards, established in 1973, grants degrees through Charter Oak State College. As a nontraditional college, Charter Oak is designed to provide adults with an alternate means to earn degrees that are of equivalent quality and rigor to those earned at other accredited institutions of higher learning. The College, therefore, collaborates with and complements the missions of other Connecticut colleges and universities.
Charter Oak State College awards four degrees: the Associate in Arts, the Associate in Science, the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science. These degree programs enable students to meet career and personal goals. The content of the bachelor's degree programs is structured to provide the foundations needed for advanced study since a large number of Charter Oak State College alumni continue their education in graduate school. Enrollment is open to any adult who demonstrates college-level achievement. The College endeavors to recognize the diversity and achievements of its entire community.
Recognizing that learning takes place in many forms, Charter Oak State College provides a flexible approach to higher education. There is no residency requirement, and academic credit may be awarded for course work completed successfully at other accredited institutions, academic instruction sponsored by noncollegiate organizations, military training evaluations, video-based and online courses offered by Charter Oak, testing, portfolio assessment, contract learning, and for learning acquired through many licensure and certification programs.
Charter Oak State College has no physical campus and offers no in-classroom instruction, but assists its students through a variety of academic support services including program planning, testing, and evaluation. The College also delivers online courses, serves as a testing center and provides credit registry services, as well as, information regarding other educational opportunities. The College identifies qualified faculty from regionally accredited colleges and universities and other experts to assess academic achievement in areas not measured by standardized tests and to serve as mentors for programs such as online courses, contract learning, and practica. In recruiting these faculty and experts, the College actively seeks to identify educators who value the impact of broad and diverse experience acquired by students.
Charter Oak State College also assists other Connecticut colleges or universities seeking to provide their students with alternate ways to validate college-level learning, develops partnerships with the corporate and non-profit community to meet the state’s workforce needs and through its Connecticut Credit Assessment Program and special assessments evaluates and formally recognizes non-collegiate learning regardless of how or where such learning is acquired.
Charter Oak State College conducts institutional research and assessment to monitor and evaluate the progress and success of its students, graduates, and programs. The College uses the results of these assessments to evaluate its effectiveness and to make changes that respond to student, institutional, and societal needs.
Student demographics
Charter Oak's non-traditional adult students include the military, civilian federal and state employees, working adults pursuing first or second degrees, and students taking additional coursework in preparation for graduate school. Charter Oak State College's students are 65% female, 35% male and range in age from 17 to 72, with an average age of 39. 69% of Charter Oak's students are Connecticut residents.[1]
College President
Edward (Ed) Klonoski was appointed President of Charter Oak State College on February 15, 2008.
Throughout Klonoski's professional career, he has always been involved in the fields of education and technology, focusing his energies on the successful integration of those two worlds. From 1997 to 1999 Klonoski was the Director of Information Technology for Charter Oak, focusing on building systems, training technology staff and representing the College on state technology planning groups. Before his appointment at Charter Oak, Klonoski was the president of the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (1998–2008), building the organization, creating multiple course delivery infrastructures, and structuring the financial foundation to pilot a virtual high school for Connecticut. Before his work at Charter Oak, Klonoski was the Director of the Advanced Educational Computing Project and Coordinator of Information and Instructional Technology Training at the University of Hartford. Also at the University of Hartford, Klonoski was an assistant professor of Rhetoric, Language & Culture, and he was an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut, teaching literature and writing.
Klonoski has made numerous presentations throughout the country on emerging technologies, elearning, collaborative partnerships and the integration of technology and learning. In addition, he sits on a number of boards in Connecticut.
Klonoski is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where he received his Bachelor’s in English and of the University of Hartford where he received a Master's in the same subject.
Alumni
The mission of the Charter Oak’s Alumni Association is to provide professional and social opportunities to former students of the college, to support graduates in their further education and in their careers, to advance the reputation of the College, and to support its educational services and goals. Membership is open to all individuals who have received a degree from the College. 53% of Charter Oak's alumni reside in Connecticut.
Notable alumni include former professional football player Marvin Jones, Oklahoma State Representative Jason Murphey, Rhode Island State Representative Larry Valencia, and Connecticut television news anchor Al Terzi.
Scholarships
Charter Oak’s Alumni Association actively contributes to the D’Amato Award, a graduate study scholarship given to a Charter Oak alumna or alumnus pursuing graduate studies on an annual basis.
In 2005 the Alumni Board created an Undergraduate Scholarship, which will be given annually to a currently matriculated student of Charter Oak State College.
References
External links
Colleges and universities in Connecticut Public institutions Central Connecticut · Charter Oak · Eastern Connecticut · Southern Connecticut · University of Connecticut · Western Connecticut
Private institutions Albertus Magnus · Briarwood · Connecticut College · Fairfield · Goodwin · Holy Apostles · LACFA · Mitchell · Paier · Post · Quinnipiac · Rensselaer at Hartford · Sacred Heart · Saint Joseph · Trinity · University of Bridgeport · University of Hartford · University of New Haven · Wesleyan · Yale
Federal institutions Community Colleges Graduate, professional, and
research institutionsBerkeley Divinity School · Hartford Seminary · Quinnipiac School of Law · University of Connecticut Health Center · University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine · University of Connecticut School of Law · Yale Law School · Yale School of Drama · Yale School of Medicine
Coordinates: 41°41′17″N 72°46′07″W / 41.688147°N 72.768695°W
Categories:- New Britain, Connecticut
- Public universities and colleges in Connecticut
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges
- Distance education institutions
- Educational institutions established in 1973
- Universities and colleges in Hartford County, Connecticut
- Universities and colleges in Connecticut
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