Charter Oak State College
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
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.
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
.
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.
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in New Britain
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and is named for Connecticut's famous Charter Oak
Charter Oak
The Charter Oak was an unusually large white oak tree growing, from around the 12th or 13th century until 1856, on what the English colonists named Wyllys Hyll, in Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
. The college is located across Paul Manafort Drive from Central Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University is a state university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.The school was moved to its present campus in 1922...
. The college was founded in 1973 by the Connecticut Legislature
Connecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. There are no term limits for either chamber.During...
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
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
, 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
Thomas Edison State College
Thomas Edison State College is a public institution of higher education located in Trenton, New Jersey. One of New Jersey's 12 public universities and colleges, Thomas Edison State College offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Excelsior College
Excelsior College
Excelsior College is a private, non-profit institution of higher education in Albany, New York. It is a constituent member of The University of the State of New York, and has its own charter and Board of Trustees. Excelsior College offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, providing online degree completion programs.
Charter Oak has awarded over 11,000 degrees since its founding in 1973.
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
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and the Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
. 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.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
Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium
The Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium is a State of Connecticut agency that supports online learning in Connecticut. Although not a college, it hosts and provides services to Connecticut's colleges and universities to make it easier for them to offer online courses and degree programs...
(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
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
. 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
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, 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
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
State Representative Jason Murphey
Jason Murphey
Jason Murphey is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. He currently serves as House District 31 State Representative in the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing Logan and Oklahoma Counties and the towns of Edmond, Guthrie, Meridian, Mulhall, Marshall, Cashion, Orlando,...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
State Representative Larry Valencia, and Connecticut television news anchor Al Terzi
Al Terzi
Al Terzi is a news anchor for WFSB .-Career:Al began with WTIC/WTIC-FM/WTIC-TV in June 1968 as a staff announcer. The station was owned by Travelers Insurance. When the Washington Post bought the station in 1973, Terzi remained as newscaster and talk show host. He was the original host when New...
.
Scholarships
Charter Oak’s Alumni Association actively contributes to the D’Amato Award, a graduate studyGraduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
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.