Ohio State's roots go back to 1870, when the Ohio General Assembly established the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The college's curriculum was a matter of bitter dispute among politicians, the public, and educators. One faction, the "narrow gauge" group, held that the college should devote itself solely to the teaching of agriculture and mechanical arts. The "broad gauge" faction wanted a wider program that featured English and ancient and foreign languages as well. Joseph Sullivant, a member of the first Board of Trustees, pushed the "broad gauge" idea through the Board of Trustees, where it passed by a margin of eight to seven votes. His legacy endures; Ohio State continues to offer a broad-based, liberal arts education and a diverse range of study. Classes began at the new college on September 17, 1873. Twenty-four students met at the old Neil farm just two miles north of Columbus. In 1878, the college's name was changed to The Ohio State University. In that same year the first class of six men graduated, and in 1879, the university graduated its first woman. As of August 2006, 580,489 degrees have been awarded.
The university was made possible through provisions of the Land-Grant Act, signed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862. This legislation revolutionized the country's educational system, making it possible for all high school graduates to obtain a college degree. Accordingly, the school's mission was to provide all Ohio students the opportunity to go to college. Admissions were not competitive. In the 1980s, however, a selective admissions process was established. Students come from all over Ohio and the rest of the U.S. to attend Ohio State. While they may have different educational backgrounds, they must meet competitive criteria in order to attend the university. For more information about Ohio State students, click here.
The university has grown into a large institution and can appear intimidating both to instructors and students. Ohio State's main campus in Columbus is currently the largest college campus in the nation with an enrollment of 51,818 students (as of autumn 2006) and a budget of $3.76 billion (2006–2007).
Ohio State's main campus is in Columbus. There are four regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark. Ohio State Newark is the largest of the regional campuses, with 2100 students and 50 faculty. The university operates additional programs throughout Ohio such as the Agricultural Technical Institute and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, both in Wooster, Ohio, and the Stone Laboratory, located on Gibraltar Island in the Put-in-Bay Harbor of Lake Erie. The university also operates its own airport and golf course. As of 2006, the university has a total of 928 buildings, 471 of which are in Columbus; this number is growing every year. Five university buildings are on the National Register of Historical Places: University Hall, Hayes Hall, Orton Hall, Enarson Hall, and the Ohio Stadium. The Ohio State academic library system is the largest in Ohio and one of the largest in North America. Twenty-eight individual libraries (on the Columbus and regional campuses) hold 6.04 million printed volumes and 5.9 million microforms. It takes 38,198 employees, including 12,896 student employees, to make Ohio State run (see table below). It is no wonder why students, as well as instructors, may be intimidated by the size of the university.
| Employees (Autumn 2006) | |
| Total | 38,198 |
| Regular Faculty | 3,028 |
| Clinical Faculty | 427 |
| Research Faculty | 38 |
| Auxiliary Faculty | 1,884 |
| Administrative and Professional Staff | 14,394 |
| Civil Service Staff | 5,531 |
| Student Employees | 12,896 |
Ohio State offers an extensive range of academic programs in the liberal arts, the sciences and the professions. Students have a variety of choices when it comes to picking a major or a degree program.
| Academic Structure (as of 2006) | |
| Undergraduate Majors | 167 |
| Programs Leading to the Master's | 132 |
| Professional Degree Programs | 7 |
| Programs leading to the Doctorate | 100 |
| Courses (estimated) | 12,000 |
Students can tailor their education to their interests through a double major, minor, or personalized program. The university also offers more than 100 study abroad programs in 40 countries. Because the size of Ohio State is so large, it may surprise you to know that the undergraduate student to regular faculty ratio is only 13:1. 73% of first-year classes have 39 students or less and only 7% have more than 100 students.
These values are directly relevant to you in your role as an instructor. As a teacher, you have many opportunities to "open the world to your students," and instill in them a love of learning that will last beyond your class.
In order to guide Ohio State toward meeting its overarching goal of becoming a world-class university, an Academic Plan was endorsed in 2001 by the Board of Trustees. Most initiatives identified in it are expected to be realized within its ten-year time frame. In preparing the academic plan, the university has focused on becoming a national leader in the quality of its academic programs, being universally acclaimed for the quality of learning experience it offers its students, creating an environment that values and is enriched by diversity, and addressing our society's most compelling needs. These elements are reflected in the six strategies that follow.
1. Build a world-class faculty.
2. Develop academic programs that define Ohio State as the nation's leading public land-grant university.
3. Improve the quality of the teaching and learning environment.
4. Enhance and better serve the student body.
5. Create a more diverse university community.
6. Help build Ohio's future.
More details about these strategies, including the university's plans for achieving these goals and past yearly updates, are online.
Academic departments, colleges, and academic and non-academic support units plan their activities with these strategies in mind. You the instructor are a significant contributor to the success of this plan. Your dedication to teaching and a willingness to teach well will improve the quality of the teaching and learning environment, which in turn serves the student body. You not only help build Ohio's future, but the future of the world by teaching your students, and learning from them.
Diversity Action Plan
The main goal of the Diversity Action Plan is for the university to be a national model for diversity and become one of the most welcoming campuses in the country. Created in 2000, the plan's objectives are as follows:
Read the complete plan in detail at Ohio State's Diversity Site, with links to annual diversity data, official reports on Ohio State diversity issues, and other informative resources.
Instructors at Ohio State should expect to encounter a diverse undergraduate student body. The more an instructor understands that student population, the better he or she will be able to respond in an appropriate manner in teaching a diverse student population.
Buck-ID: your university identification card
BuckeyeLink: the registrar's online service for students
Buckeye Pride: a site celebrating school spirit and campus traditions
Buckeye Village: student family housing
Buckeye Net News: news and information for Ohio State students
Buckeye Battle Cry: one of the university's songs, played often at football games. You might also hear it broadcast over loudspeakers by stores along High Street on Saturdays when there is a home football game in the stadium.
"Carmen Ohio" is the university's offical anthem. "Carmen" also is the name of the unversity's online course management system (powered by Desire 2 Learn).
According to one account, Carmen Ohio, the university's oldest song, was written in 1902 by Fred Cornell, a freshman member of the Ohio State Football team, following a loss to Michigan, 86-0. You can listen to the song played by the Ohio State marching band here.
Ohio State's current football coach, Jim Tressel, introduced a new tradition on the football field during his first year as head coach of the Buckeyes. At the end of every game played in the Ohio Stadium, the football team sings the first verse of this song to the marching band. You can read all three verses of the song, and see other Ohio State School songs (including the Buckeye Battle Cry, mentioned above), here.
Named for the School Song, Carmen is an online course management system that is powered by Desire 2 Learn. It is useful for both classroom and online courses, offering the ability to keep track of grades, submit and grade assignments electronically, create discussion boards for online discussion, collaborate on projects, etc. You can read an introduction to using Carmen here. Workshops on Carmen are offered every quarter. These include general overviews on how to use Carmen, as well as workshops on special topics such as setting up a gradebook, designing quizzes, optimizing course content, and using Carmen's online communication tools. A Carmen shell is created for every course listed in the Master's Schedule of classes. It is also possible to request Carmen space for other university purposes, such as hosting discussions, sharing files for projects or committees, or department administration. Your students may ask you if you will use Carmen, whether course materials will be available on Carmen, and whether they will have to submit their assignments on Carmen.
"The 'Shoe" is an abbreviated nickname for the Ohio Stadium, which was built in the shape of a horseshoe. Ohio State has 36 varsity sports (17 men's and 19 women's), most of which play in the NCAA Big Ten Conference (see http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com).
The university has a strong athletic tradition, particularly in college football. People travel from all over Ohio to attend home football games in the 'Shoe. Fans will often wear scarlet and gray, the university's colors, at athletic events. If you are working on campus on a Saturday during a home football game, you will see crowds of people dressed in these colors heading toward the Ohio Stadium.
Some instructors take advantage of the common knowledge of football by comparing concepts in their class to aspects of an Ohio State game. It is not necessary to do this, but if you like football and are familiar with it, it can be useful, given how popular football is with students.
For more information, see Ohio State FAQs.
NOTE: Some text in this section has been adapted from other information publicly available at The Ohio State University.
The Ohio State University Statistical Summary, retrieved from http://www.osu.edu/osutoday/stuinfo.php
National Register of Historic Places, http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/
John H. Herrick Archives, http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/default.asp
Ohio State Library Statistics, http://library.osu.edu/sites/libinfo/osulstats.php
Office of International Education, http://www.oie.osu.edu/studyabroad
Academic Plan, http://www.osu.edu/academicplan/preface.php
Diversity Action Plan, http://www.osu.edu/diversityplan/index.php