Regional University Centers Advance Economic Development

From the July/August 2006 Issue of InFocus

The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center offers a place for partner institutions to expand their reach.

Photo courtesy of IPFW.

Today, more learning is taking place outside the confines of a traditional campus.

Some institutions have responded to this changing instructional model by creating "university centers"—entities that offer degree programs from multiple universities at single location. These centers serve residents whose work or other commitments may preclude travel to a distant university. By providing options for place-bound students, these centers generate a skilled workforce, which in turn can attract new employers and support the local economy.

The Roanoke Higher Education Center in Roanoke, Virginia, is the result of a grassroots collaboration between business and community leaders and the state legislative delegation. Both parties were determined to bring upper division and graduate higher education opportunities to the region. "Roanoke is the largest metropolitan area in Virginia that does not have a four-year state institution in its boundaries," says Tom McKeon, Executive Director of the Roanoke Center. "The community wanted to solve that problem."

With many of the Virginia state schools already involved in outreach and off-campus programs, creation of a center was not an easy sell. "We are not a huge metro area, but we are a substantial and an important crossroads in the state of Virginia." There are some 230,000 residents in the region.

Education for a Virginia's Crossroads

The Roanoke Higher Education Center offers nearly 200 programs of study.

Photo courtesy of the Roanoke Center.

Government leaders, business leaders, and the state general assembly conducted feasibility studies required to bring the project to fruition and acquire funding. "The more they pushed, the more it made sense," says McKeon. "The community leaders really believe education is an engine of economic development."

The Roanoke Center opened in August 2000 and welcomed 2,500 students in its first year. Today, the Center offers nearly 200 programs of study through its partner organizations, which include Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and Hampton University. This fall, Old Dominion University will introduce the first Ph.D. program at the Center.

With 17 partner institutions, both private and public, the offerings are diverse. McKeon notes that the success of the Center has much to do with how well partners relate to one another. "If one school has a program the other does not offer, we make referrals. We want the best program to meet our students' needs. Our focus is on helping students. The public gets a sense of that," he explains. "There is a spirit of 'a rising tide raises all ships' here."

Supporting Regional Development

Southern Maryland Higher Education Center has two buildings, including five meeting rooms for training and conferences, holding 50 to 500 participants.

Photo courtesy of SMHEC.

Marti Clyde, Director of the Quad Cities Graduate Study Center in Rock Island, Illinois, believes that the Quad Cities Center's strong base in the community has been essential to its success. "The community views it as a 'one-stop shop'," she explains. The GradCenter, a product of a community-led effort to bring local graduate programs to the area in the 1960s, is a consortium of 12 higher education institutions that deliver graduate degree programs to Quad Cities residents. The region includes Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Moline/East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. The GradCenter is closely aligned with the region's economic development organization and works to assess educational needs. "We are heavily involved in fostering partnerships among our member institutions and the Quad Cities business and education communities," says Clyde.

The Center offers more than 80 master's degree programs, an Ed.S. degree program, several doctorate degree programs, graduate certificate programs, and professional development courses. Classes are held evenings and weekends to accommodate adult learners. "We help member institutions test the waters for new degree programs and help promote and market our members' current ones,"Clyde continues. Members, such as the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), Saint Xavier University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, and Iowa State University offer face-to-face courses in more than 35 classroom sites, including the GradCenter, which is located on the campus of Augustana College. About 10 percent of classes are offered online.

A Demand for Engineering Programs

The Southern Maryland Higher Education Center (SMHEC) also came about in response to an organized community lobbying effort. "Prior to 1995 there was no opportunity for obtaining a master's degree or completing a bachelor's degree in a professional field in the region without traveling at least 60 miles to the nearest campus," says Mel Powell, Executive Director of the Center.

Southern Maryland had a unique situation. With 17,000 researchers and scientists working at a naval base, representing 50 percent of the three-county region's economy, there was a need for graduate engineering programs to provide professional development opportunities for personnel transferring to the naval base, and to keep the naval base's programs in the region during a period of national base realignments. With the community's economic vitality at stake, local business and technology company leaders lobbied the state. This led to a $3 million grant dedicated to the construction of a 14- classroom higher education building on a 25 acre campus deeded for the purpose by a local professional technology park. A second building with an additional 21 classrooms was constructed by the state and opened in 2003.

Today, 11 universities offer 83 academic programs at the Center, including 45 master's degrees, three doctorates, 16 bachelor of science completion programs and 19 graduate certificates and education certification programs. Some 30 graduate and B.S. completion engineering and technology programs are offered by Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland College Park, George Washington University, Old Dominion University, and the University of Maryland University College, among others.

The Center's buildings house lounge areas, computer labs, and offices of the participating universities. It is also equipped with high-tech amenities, such as a classroom with video stations to enable students to participate in live, two-way discussions. Classes for the Center's academic programs are offered on-site at the Center by full and adjunct faculty from partner universities.

Fostering Technology Businesses

NIIC partners with educational institutions, community and businesses to promote new businesses in the area.

Photo courtesy of IPFW.

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) was a founding partner in the creation of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), a multi-purpose center designed to foster technology business development in the region. NIIC is comprised of partners from the community, venture capitalists, educational institutions, and other entities that help further the development of technology companies based in Northeast Indiana. IPFW, along with other institutions, supports the NIIC's mission by offering relevant business and training courses, in addition to the services of the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CEE).

IPFW recently received state-funded workforce development grants to create an Advanced Manufacturing Bootcamp for teachers and students, and an Advanced Business Technology Solutions course. Both courses will be offered at NIIC this Fall in conjunction with the Richard T. Doermer School of Business and Management Sciences, the Business Enterprise Systems and Technology Institute, and the Division of Continuing Studies (DCS). Deb Conklin, Executive Director, DCS at IPFW, believes the Center heightens continuing education's visibility in workforce and contract training, and fosters collaborations. "NIIC provides participants an environment where they are well-connected to potential partners to help grow business. We are working together to grow our community."

—Kandace Gilligan