Tucson Region
Regents call for cooperation
Existing institutions must work together for regional colleges
By Aaron Mackey
Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona Published: 06.19.2009

FLAGSTAFF — An ambitious plan to provide cheaper, quality higher education to Arizona residents will fail unless the state's three public universities work more closely with community colleges, members of the Arizona Board of Regents said Thursday.
During a study session in which the board discussed plans to open a series of new four-year state colleges in the next three years, regents repeatedly urged the universities to consider partnering with community colleges to provide the curriculum, facilities and money to make the plan a reality.
The plan includes opening several regional colleges throughout the state that would offer bachelor's degrees and cost at least $1,000 less per year than tuition at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.
The three universities would operate the colleges and provide a small range of high-demand degrees that wouldn't have the more expensive, research-intensive approach of their respective main campuses in Tucson, Tempe and Flagstaff.
Given the scarce financial resources of the state, it is crucial that the universities work with community colleges because they can provide support in their regions for new educational opportunities, NAU President John Haeger said.
Haeger's point was exemplified by his announcement that NAU will partner with Yavapai College in the Prescott area to open a regional campus in August.
The campus, which will be part of a regional library built in Prescott Valley, will offer courses throughout the year, giving students the opportunity to quickly complete their bachelor's degrees.
Rather than offer a bevy of degree options, the campus will tailor itself to the job demands of the region, Haeger said.
"We really don't want to replicate the way we do business in Flagstaff," he said.
Cultivating closer ties with the community colleges will be crucial to the success of providing low-cost alternatives to state residents, Regent Vice President Ernest Calderón said.
"I don't think we will succeed unless we have a strong relationship with the community colleges," he said.
Other perils to the plan include the three universities duplicating their efforts in particular regions of the state, which could lead to overextension and, ultimately, failure, ASU President Michael Crow said.
"The universities must coordinate what they're working on or people will be confused," he said. "We will not get brand recognition and traction."
For example, the plan presented by UA President Robert Shelton showed the university creating smaller colleges in Casa Grande and Paradise Valley. That could conceivably conflict with plans by ASU.
Calderón said the board will have to take an active role in reviewing each proposal and may have to tell a university that it can't expand in a particular region because another institution already has the site locked up.
But Shelton said the universities could exist in the same region, as both NAU and the UA do in Yuma. There, both universities work closely together to provide a number of degree options to residents without any overlap.
Regent Anne Mariucci said she is concerned the universities might create a product that causes a precipitous drop in enrollment at the three main campuses as students run in droves for a cheaper degree option.
Shelton said that isn't likely because the students interested in earning a degree from a research-intensive university would still want to attend one of the three main campuses.
The regional universities would draw on students who live in the region and can't make the move to a main campus either because of a job or family, Shelton said.
The universities also have to make the case to state lawmakers that increased funding for the new colleges doesn't correspond with cuts to the main universities, Calderón said.
The new colleges aren't designed to replace the services offered by the UA, ASU and NAU but rather to supplement the options for an increasing population of college-eligible students, he said.
The trick will be preparing those students for the college experience and ensuring they understand the importance of a college degree, Crow said.
"We think the advantage in Arizona is that we have so much untapped demand," he said. "There are 15,000 students capable of going on to higher education every year who do not."
Contact reporter Aaron Mackey at amackey@azstarnet.com or at 807-8012