On June 30, 2023, Otterbein University cofounded the Coalition for the Common Good (CCG) with Antioch University, a first-of-its-kind system of private, not for profit universities built around the idea of a shared graduate and adult learner program with a national reach. The past year has been an exciting whirlwind as we work with our Antioch colleagues to create something brand new in higher education.

In July, Antioch University announced the founding of the new Graduate School of Nursing and Health Professions, which will manage the expansion of Otterbein’s graduate Allied Health, Athletic Training, and Nursing programs to Seattle and Los Angeles. A number of Otterbein faculty and administrators are transferring to Antioch to support the transition of these excellent graduate programs. This is the first step on a long journey that will keep Otterbein setting the pace for higher education.

One of the questions we hear most often from alumni and friends of the University about the founding of the Coalition is: What do Otterbein undergraduates get out of it? The question makes sense, since we focus on graduate and adult learners when discussing the Coalition.

It is important to understand, however, that we have had the needs of our undergraduate students in mind from credits during the senior year of their undergraduate degree. Those nine credits — the equivalent of three graduate courses — count toward both their undergraduate and master’s degrees and are covered by the student’s undergraduate tuition.

Otterbein and Antioch faculty are currently developing several additional pathways to be launched later this year.

Meredith Frey, professor and chair of Otterbein’s Psychology Department.

Meredith Frey, professor and chair of Otterbein’s Psychology Department, was instrumental in the development of the Art Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling pathways. “The Graduate Early Admission Pathways are a game changer for our students and for the broader region,” she said. “We’ve always delivered an exceptional undergraduate education in psychology, but for many of our students, a bachelor’s degree isn’t enough to get them into the careers they want to pursue, where their talent and dedication are sorely needed.”

Frey’s comments demonstrate one of the most important reasons to develop Graduate Early Admissions Pathways. Many students develop career interests while they are in high school but have no understanding of the level of education required to be able to achieve their goal — or how to get there. Otterbein now has the ability to give students a pathway that is clearly defined and easy to follow to pursue their dreams.

Students apply to the Antioch graduate program the fall semester of their junior year and will receive conditional our earliest conversations about the Coalition.

In June 2021, Otterbein surveyed over 700 prospective undergraduate students about what benefits would be important to them from a strategic affiliation with other universities. Among the top three benefits that undergraduate students wanted to see was accelerated pathways to a master’s degree.

To meet that need, Otterbein and Antioch have developed 10 Graduate Early Admission Pathways (GEAPs) that allow students to reduce the time and expense of earning a master’s degree by taking up to nine graduate admission to the program. During their senior year they take the three Antioch graduate courses along with their Otterbein courses. Students who successfully complete the Antioch coursework are then fully admitted to the program and can begin their studies immediately after graduation from Otterbein.

The GEAPs are another example of our commitment to serving the common good. “The Psychology-Clinical Mental Health Counseling pathway allows our students to get a head-start on their counseling career — without giving up their senior year at Otterbein — and, importantly, allows us to serve our greater community by providing more trained mental health practitioners,” said Frey.