LCCC: A Look at the University Partnership Ridge Campus

Lorain County Community College is the college of first choice for the entire community.

LCCC has served one in four county residents and impacts greater than 50 percent of Lorain County households.

Sixty-one percent of Lorain County high school graduates start their college experience with LCCC. 

And, in 2019, 43 percent of all Lorain County high school graduates earned some college credit BEFORE high school graduation. This saved families $6.5 million in college costs!

LCCC serves more than 10,000 students enrolling each year, along with 3,000-plus students taking University Partnership courses to earn bachelor and master degrees, benefiting from affordable tuition that is among the lowest in the state.

The University Partnership Ridge Campus, located at 32121 Lorain Road in North Ridgeville, is a vital component of the LCCC success story.

UPRC launched on Jan. 7, 2013. In its seven years, 3,500 LCCC students have enrolled in courses at UPRC. Another 400-plus students take part in the University Partnership with The University of Toledo and The University of Akron.

UPRC also uniquely serves North Ridgeville Schools Ranger High Tech Academy, where students take College Credit Plus and other courses like Digital Fabrication.

Leading the UPRC Campus are Joe Martin, Coordinator – LCCC University Partnership Ridge Campus, and Karen Tomcko, Career and Advising Professional School and Community Partnerships.

“LCCC is critical to the economy, delivering programs that people need to prepare for jobs of today in healthcare, information technology, engineering, advanced manufacturing, skilled trades and business. Additionally, LCCC partners with area employers to keep our workforce up to date,” reports Martin. “Over 85 percent of LCCC graduates live and work in the region.”

LCCC has the highest student success rate of any community college in Ohio. LCCC is also recognized nationally, as evidenced by it recent recognition as one of the Top 150 community colleges in the country by the prestigious Aspen Institute.

The school has seen a 94 percent increase in the number of individuals earning degrees and certificates since 2011. Contributing to that role today is the University Partnership Ridge Campus.

“Healthcare is a large component of our services,” said Martin. “Our EMT/Paramedic program is always full and it represents our main focus to serve the needs of the community. These are programs that fit the needs of both our students and the community as a whole.”

The Patient Simulation Learning Center for Allied Health and Nursing programs at UPRC fills a uniquely important role.

The Health Simulation Center offers programming for numerous healthcare disciplines to promote the delivery of safe patient care. 

Computer assisted virtual patients on site allow for computer aided medical training procedures and can even simulate labor in a patient. 

The center serves to promote education to the students of Lorain County Community College, but is also open to serve the healthcare population at large.

“LCCC also produces the most highly trained first-responders that keep our community safe and healthy,” said Martin of the Paramedic/EMT Program.

Since 2013, UPRC has served over 1,100 students including college-level nursing, emergency medicine, occupational therapy, and medicine. It also involves numerous high school and middle school groups from surrounding communities.

Other programs offered at UPRC include business and IT certificates and degrees and the digital forensics and computer application integration specialist programs.

One of the University Partnership programs that is located at UPRC is The University of Toledo’s Computer Science and Engineering bachelor degree. The program is a combined four-year computer science and electrical engineering degree.  One of only 8 in the country.

The Bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron is a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in “Computer Information Systems.”

The Campus also welcomes the community with 5,000 visits annually to computer labs and public spaces that are open to residents.

University Partnership Ridge Campus allows students to begin almost any degree or certificate program with its wide variety of general education programs.

Students are also able to complete several degree programs with courses offered on site and or online.

“We are number one in student success,” said Tomcko. “Students can come here and take classes before they go on to a four-year program, or they can stay local at UPRC and pursue one of the 15 University Partnership degrees here.”

LCCC and UPRC have formulated a groundwork of success that is both local and affordable.

Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degree programs are transfer degrees designed for students who continue their education after LCCC. The degrees do not have specific majors, but can be tailored to apply to different majors at the bachelor’s degree level at the LCCC University Partnership and other universities.

Martin, whose ongoing assessment of programs and services for the community, concludes that UPRC is designed to fit the prospective student where he/she is at. The University Partnership Ridge Campus allows students to begin almost any degree or certification program with its wide variety of general education program. Students are able to complete several degree programs with courses offered both on-site and/or online.

About UPRC

The University Partnership Ridge Campus (UPRC) of LCCC provides local residents with what they need to succeed in the 21st century – easy access, high quality, affordable associate and bachelor degrees. UPRC is conveniently located in North Ridgeville on Lorain Road adjacent to the Interstate 480 East entrance ramp and provides access to residents in North Ridgeville, Avon, Eaton Township, Olmsted Township, Columbia Station, North Olmsted and Westlake.

Comprehensive student services, including admissions, course registration, and the Accuplacer Assessment are available at the University Partnership Ridge Campus. Academic advising is available by appointment.

A bank of computers are available in the lobby during regular office hours for students, faculty, staff and community use. Both Windows and Apple computers are available.

Computer Science and Engineering Partnership at UPRC

The University of Toledo’s Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) degree is one of the flagship programs at the University Partnership Ridge Campus. The University of Toledo’s College of Engineering was recently ranked as one of the top four engineering programs in the state of Ohio by the Princeton Review. Graduates of the CSE program find careers in the aerospace, automotive, chemical, communication, electronics, manufacturing, and processing industries as well as in government and education. Computer engineers design both the hardware and software for automotive test equipment, biomedical instrumentation, computer networking, computer-aided design systems, computer vision systems, robotics and more.

To schedule an individual advising appointment with Program Director Adrienne Aguilar, please call (440) 366-7678. 

Academic Programs

UPRC includes a Patient Simulation Learning Center for Health and Wellness programs, including the Accelerated Paramedic Program. Other programs offered at the UPRC include business and IT certificates and degrees, the digital forensics and computer application integration specialist programs.

UPRC is proud to host The University of Toledo’s Computer Science and Engineering Bachelor of Science program, offered through the LCCC University Partnership.

Advanced Digital Forensics Institute

The Advanced Digital Forensics Institute (ADFI) provides Digital Forensics services to various government agencies and private companies. Its primary service is investigation into data loss and computer misuse. ADFI also provides office and lab space and makes technology available to the students in the Digital Forensics academic programs at LCCC.

Click here to view entire photo gallery.