(North Canton, OH – Aug. 6, 2020) – Stark State College is part of a new partnership with the United States Navy to provide educational services and help launch the newly formed U.S. Naval Community College (USNCC).

The $147-million contract will educate enlisted sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen in a variety of programs in engineering technology, information technology, health sciences, environmental technology, cybersecurity, communications technology/information systems, management science, data analytics and more.

“Stark State College is proud and honored to be selected as a partner institution to the U.S. Navy Community College,” said Stark State President Para M. Jones, Ph.D. “Our high-quality applied technology programs, university transfer and online teaching and learning capabilities align with USNCC goals.”

USNCC students who wish to continue on for a bachelor’s degree can do so via a partnership between Stark State and Cleveland State University.

With 119 accredited educational institutions taking part in the endeavor, the USNCC will confer transferable and recognized associate degrees and certificates as a fully accredited institution, providing flexible delivery methods to account for operational demands and technological constraints of a globally distributed workforce, developing academic programs in alignment with the organizational needs of the Navy and Marine Corps and recognizing various forms of learning obtained through military technical and leadership training.

Stark State College is an excellent fit for the distance education/online learning focus of the new USNCC, as the College has been an e-learning provider for more than 20 years and was recently named among the top 50 community colleges in the nation for online education by College Consensus.