Mission Statement

Stark State College positively influences the life of each student and our communities by providing access to high-quality, relevant, and affordable education.

Vision Statement

Stark State College aspires to be Ohio’s leading community college in fostering student success and community prosperity through innovation, responsiveness, and partnerships.

Statement of Commitment

Stark State College affirms its dedication to fostering an environment that upholds the values of intellectual diversity, personal growth, and equality. This commitment is central to our mission and is reflected in the following principles.

• Stark State College will educate students to seek the truth through free, open, and rigorous intellectual inquiry.
• Stark State College declares that its duty is to equip students with the opportunity to develop the intellectual skills they need to reach their own, informed conclusions.
• Stark State College is committed to not requiring, favoring, disfavoring, or prohibiting speech or lawful assembly.
• Stark State College is committed to creating a community dedicated to an ethic of civil and free inquiry, which respects the autonomy of each member, supports individual capacities for growth, and tolerates the differences in opinion that naturally occur in a public higher education community.
• Stark State College will treat all faculty, staff, and students as individuals, hold them to equal standards, and provide them with equality of opportunity with regard to their race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Open Door Policy

Access to Ohio’s state-assisted colleges must be assured for every person who wants and can benefit from higher education. Stark State College maintains an “open door” policy and cordially welcomes anyone who wishes to receive a higher education. Section 3345.06 of the Ohio Revised Code states, “A graduate of the twelfth grade should be entitled to admission without examination to any college or university which is supported wholly or in part by the state.” Open admission carries with it the full weight of equal opportunity for all, which means the College must make every effort to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of prospective students. The open admission policy allows a student to enroll in the College, but not necessarily in a specific degree-granting program. Normal admission to the College is open to anyone who is a high school graduate or the equivalent, completes the enrollment procedures and pays the fees for admission. This is exclusive of academic record or placement testing results. This open door policy does not deny specific technology departments the right to require preliminary training or talent. Students who do not meet specific program requirements upon admission to the College, may be required to satisfactorily complete such requirements before admission into a specific technology.