University System of Ohio

The University System of Ohio is the public university system of the state of Ohio. It is governed by the Ohio Department of Higher Education (formerly known as the Ohio Board of Regents).

The system includes all of Ohio's public institutions of higher education: 14 four-year state universities, 24 branch and regional campuses, 23 two-four community colleges and technical colleges, and one public medical college, as well as Adult Workforce Education (AWE) and Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) programs. The AWE and ABLE programs were transferred from the Ohio Department of Education to the Ohio Board of Regents on 1 January 2009, to provide a flexible system of higher education that will improve services while reducing costs to students. The total annual enrollment of University System of Ohio institutions is over 509,720 as of fall 2014, ranking as the third largest public university system in the United States.

The University System of Ohio was unified under Governor Ted Strickland in 2007. In 2008, Chancellor Eric Fingerhut proposed creating common academic calendars for all of the system's universities: the goal was to simplify transfer between institutions and allow students to be recruited at the same time for jobs and internships. After spending more than $26 million starting in 2008, the transition is expected to be completed in time for the August 2012 start of the new academic year.