College has new name, added focus

With Indiana Business College invading central Ohio -- a branch campus for the recently renamed Harrison College is under construction in Grove City -- it seems only right and proper that Ohio Business College should follow suit.

Actually, the Northland campus of Ohio Business College is sporting a relatively new name and added curriculum for an educational institution that's been in the Columbus area since the 1960s.

The Ohio Business College building at 1880 E. Dublin-Granville Road was the scene of a recent Northland Area Business Association "Business After Hours Gathering."

As the Ohio Institute of Health Careers, the Columbus operation of what began as Lorain Business College in 1903, programs were limited to medical and dental assistant training until the recent name change, according to Angelique Walker, school director. Sister programs under the name of Ohio Business College existed in Lorain, Sandusky and Sheffield Village, providing instruction in business administration, accounting, human resources and more.

All the schools are owned by Tri-State Educational Systems Inc., based in Middletown.

"We wanted to expand our offerings to our students," Walker said last week. "We felt we were limiting ourselves and what we could offer to the community."

When a new sign went up in March at the East Dublin-Granville Road building, next to a branch campus structure for Ashland College, Ohio Business College president Dennis Hirsh issued a statement in which he said, "Our organization is excited about bringing the OBC name and an array of quality business, legal and computer programs to Columbus to add to our already successful medical and dental assisting programs."

The new name and added focus is encouraging news for the area, according to NABA board member Paul Weber, district vice president for the YMCA of Central Ohio.

"I think the fact that they've renamed the college and they've had a re-announcement of what they offer, it just adds to the fact that Northland is revitalizing itself as an education hub," he said.

The many charter schools in the region and other private higher education operations are all part of that, according to Weber.

"It's a repurposing of the old buildings, with some of the businesses having moved out, which is kind of nice," Weber said. "Because of our dense population it's nice to see a repurposing of those buildings for education."

Walker said the school's goal "is very much career oriented."

During orientation for new students, the school director said that she always tells them if they don't graduate and find jobs in their field of study, then she personally has failed them.

"If they don't complete our program, they're no better off than the day they walked in," Walker said.

In order for the school director and others affiliated with the recently renamed Ohio Business College not to feel like failures, Walker said that an effort is made to concentrate on programs for which there is a demand in the work force.

This is done through the use of statistical data outlining areas of job growth, as well as through relationships with members of the local business community, Walker said. These relationships include Advisory Board Committees on which local business people serve in order to evaluate curriculum and provide feedback on what they liked and didn't like about potential job candidates from OBC.

"All those sorts of things help us determine what programs to bring in, what new directions to take," Walker said.

Another reason OBC and Harrison College are seeking a presence in central Ohio is that the larger universities don't meet the needs of every student, in Walker's view. Institutions like Ohio Business College offer smaller classes, typically no more than 30 students, along with free tutoring, Walker said.

The average age of Ohio Business College students is 27, and Walker said that these are often people who have myriad other responsibilities in their lives other than getting an education. Many have children and jobs, but those jobs don't tend to be well-paying, which is where programs like OBC's can help, she said.

What's now Ohio Business College has been in its own building for about five years after previously sharing space with the Ashland College branch next door, Walker said.

OBC's Northland campus has about 220 students, but Walker feels many more could benefit from its programs.

"I think we have a very large segment of our population that needs a school like this," she said.

kparks@thisweeknews.com