By Michael D. Clark
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - By August, students will attend classes as part of the two-year Community College of Warren County - the first college in the county.

The Ohio Board of Regents in Columbus voted 6-0 Thursday, with three members absent, to grant provisional approval for a pilot program plan for the community college. The college will start offering courses in August at the Warren County Career Center just north of Lebanon through three partner Greater Cincinnati colleges and universities.

Officials of the community college will seek final approval next month.

While Warren is the second-fastest-growing among Ohio's 88 counties, it ranks nearly last in the number of residents with any college education.

"We see some great opportunities for the people of Warren County, as well as for area employers, as the pilot project unfolds," said Bill Russell, vice chairman of the college's board of trustees and also an official with the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative. "This should open many doors for people needing special skills or credentials to enter the workforce."

Tuition and class schedules have not been established yet, but initial college courses will be offered through Miami University, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and Sinclair Community College. They will include health care, culinary arts, business information management, civil engineering technology, law enforcement, computer graphics and aviation maintenance.

School officials have been working for months to identify the courses that would train Warren County residents for jobs employers need filled.

Barney Wright, trustee chairman for the community college, said, "We are going to equip people to get good jobs right here."

College officials have not determined where a permanent campus would be built.

E-mail mclark@enquirer.com