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Cuyahoga Community College is offering a free program for adults who did not graduate from high school. They can receive their diploma and job training.

(Cuyahoga Community College)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Adults who left high school without graduating can earn a diploma and job training in a free program at Cuyahoga Community College.

The Adult Diploma Program will prepare men and women who are 22 or older for careers in health-care services, manufacturing, logistics and construction. They will receive a diploma and an industry credential.

"Ohio adults without a high school diploma are twice as likely to live in poverty as those with a diploma," JaNice Marshall, associate vice president of access and community engagement at Tri-C, said in a news release.

Students in the program will choose a career path and work under a personalized success plan. The approach will embed academics -- such as math and reading -- into career and technical coursework.

Students will show they have mastered their courses by passing a job skills test rather than a traditional academic test. They will receive instruction in classrooms and online.

The program begins July 6 and information sessions are offered. To enroll or for more information, call 216-987-0610, email adultdiplomaprogram@tri-c.edu or go to tri-c.edu/adultdiploma.

The number of adults accepted into the program has not yet been determined and depends on the amount of state funding, Tri-C said. State funds will be awarded July 1.

More than 1.1 million adults in Ohio lack a high school diploma and the Adult Career Opportunity Pilot Program was mandated by state law to help that segment of the population.

Tri-C received a $500,000 planning grant from the Ohio Department of Education in January. Stark State Community College in North Canton, Pickaway-Ross Joint Vocational School in Chillicothe, Miami Valley Career Technical Center near Dayton and the Penta Career Center near Toledo also received grants.