A decade in, UD Sinclair Academy is strengthening Dayton

Eric F. Spina, President of the University of Dayton, and Dr. Steve Johnson, President of Sinclair Community College, recently wrote an Op-Ed in the Dayton Daily News. Below is the opinion piece:

Ten years ago, the University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College set out to support Dayton’s future by making a bachelor’s degree more affordable and attainable for students in our region.

We knew what too many community college transfer students across the country face as they strive for a bachelor’s degree: lost credits, lost time and lost momentum. Course requirements that don’t line up. Advisors at one campus who can’t fully answer questions about the other. For students balancing jobs, families and tuition bills, any one of those obstacles can be the reason a degree slips out of reach.

We wanted to form a deeper partnership, strong enough to dismantle those barriers and successful enough to serve as a national model. The UD Sinclair Academy admits students to both institutions at once, gives them advisors on both campuses, opens student life on both campuses, and, vitally, provides a clear financial picture and a precise roadmap of which courses to take and when.

To date, more than 250 students have earned a University of Dayton degree through the academy, and most earn a Sinclair associate degree before transitioning, too. Nearly 80% of the graduates have stayed in the Dayton region after graduation. That matters at a time when communities across the country are struggling to keep talented people.

Those who transition to UD through the academy graduate at a 95% rate within four years. For the 2024-25 graduating class, 100% of students entered their careers, went to graduate school or pursued service opportunities within six months of earning their degrees.

Graduates are building careers in engineering, business, education, health professions, public service and civilian roles supporting the U.S. Air Force, among many other fields. They contribute to our economy, civil life, scientific innovation, artistic expression and more. They also strengthen our campuses as student leaders, athletes, peer mentors and researchers.

Camryn Vaught, a recent graduate, said cost was an important factor for her when pursuing her degree. Knowing her costs would be manageable through the academy opened up opportunities for her to peer tutor, serve as an orientation leader, and read for the student literary magazine.

The work is not finished. Too many talented students in the Miami Valley still believe that a four-year degree is out of reach. In Montgomery County, 31% of adults have a bachelor’s degree, which is below the state and national averages; but more than half of the new jobs Ohio expects to add require a four-year degree or more.

The gap between where we are and where our economy is going is real, and closing it depends on making sure more students know opportunities exist.

Nearly 80% of the graduates have stayed in the Dayton region after graduation. That matters at a time when communities across the country are struggling to keep talented people.