Stark State College is looking to open a satellite campus at a yet-to-be-determined site in Akron as early as this fall.
The Jackson Township-based school hopes to capture a major untapped market with its certificate and two-year associate degree programs.
Akron is the largest metropolitan area in Ohio without a traditional state-supported community college.
The school says it’s looking for a site because 25 percent of its current students are from the Akron area, and government and business leaders have asked it to move into the community.
“We are very actively looking,” said Marisa Rohn, executive director of advancement, marketing and the Stark State College Foundation. “We’d love to start serving students in the fall but it’s more about the right fit.”
The college, which has nearly 13,000 students, is searching for a location that is near a highway, is accessible by public transportation and has ample, free parking.
City officials confirmed that one of the potential sites is Chapel Hill Mall.
Akron, Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge leaders are concerned about the future of the shopping mall in northeast Akron because the Macy’s is closing there. The school could go into the department store space and help the remaining retail with added foot traffic.
James Hardy, chief of staff for Mayor Dan Horrigan, noted that there also are locations downtown and in southwest Akron that are under consideration. He declined to identify the specific sites.
The Rolling Acres Mall property is not one of them, he said.
The school wants a property with about 50,000 square feet initially that could be expanded to about 85,000 square feet, he said.
Finding a suitable location for Stark State is among the top priorities for the city, Hardy said.
Workforce training
Two new reports — one done by a blue ribbon task force commissioned by Horrigan and the other completed by the Greater Ohio Policy Center — have cited a need for additional and affordable workforce training for low-income and low-skilled city residents.
Not everyone has the ability to travel to the Stark State campus, located about 17 miles from downtown Akron in Stark County.
The city campus would focus on preparing students for high-demand jobs such as in the health-care industry, Rohn said.
An Akron campus also is being seen as a way to feed students into the University of Akron and other four-year institutions if students want to continue their education.
“This is potentially transformational for the residents of the city of Akron and again would go miles down the road in meeting what we’ve now identified in these reports as a critical need,” Hardy said.
The project has the support of the Greater Akron Chamber, which is excited about the potential.
“They are a valued partner in our workforce development efforts for attraction and retaining of talent,” chamber Executive Vice President Richard Rebadow said. “We view that as another means of enhancing our educational attainment goals for the region.”
Foothold in Summit
Stark State already has a foothold in Summit County. The school has a satellite center in Barberton.
That site will be unaffected by an Akron location, Rohn said.
Stark State also has a strong relationship with Akron Public Schools through the College Credit Plus and distance learning programs. Akron teachers with master’s degrees also teach some Stark State classes in Akron schools.
Stark State offers degrees and certificates in everything from accounting to automotive technology to nursing to ophthalmic technology.
It is the fourth-largest community or technical school in the state in terms of enrollment, behind only Cuyahoga County Community College, Columbus State Community College and Sinclair Community College.
Full-time tuition for Stark State College is about $4,500 per year — an amount officials say is roughly 60 percent lower than the average public university.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.