Stark State College President Para Jones says the school needs a minimum of $9 million to open a new campus in Akron.
The Jackson Township-based school already has set aside $5 million from reserve funds and is seeking another $4 million from the state, she told the Beacon Journal editorial board Monday.
The Greater Akron Chamber also has asked the state for $2 million to support the project, she said.
Stark State confirmed last month that it is looking to open a satellite campus in the city, saying one in four of its students now is from Summit County. The school had not discussed the financial aspects of its plan before.
The school, which offers two-year associate degrees and certification programs, wants to capture an untapped market. Akron is the largest metropolitan area in the state without a traditional community college.
Stark State has yet to choose a site for the campus. It has “four or five” potential locations in mind, Jones said, and hopes to make a final decision by mid-April.
The school is looking for an existing space to renovate as opposed to building new.
In addition to Jones, Summit County Executive Russ Pry, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Akron Children’s Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer William Considine met with the newspaper’s editorial board to talk about the project.
Local governments and the business community are supportive of the effort, they said.
“I believe that we have a huge need for a community college in Summit County,” Pry said. “We’re the fourth-largest county in the state of Ohio and it is an asset that is sorely missing in our community today.”
He cited the low cost and ability of Stark State to be nimble enough to launch programs desired by the local business community.
Full-time tuition at Stark State is about $4,500 per year — an amount officials say is roughly 60 percent lower than the average four-year public university.
The school already has significant relationships in the county. It operates a small campus in Barberton and works with Akron Public Schools and the Austen Bioinnovation Institute in Akron.
Many Stark State graduates also continue on to attend the University of Akron and Kent State University to earn bachelor’s degrees.
The campus fits with the community’s strategic plan to grow its population, raise its median income and boost its educational attainment, Considine said.
It also would be better situated to serve the International Institute of Akron and immigrants and refugees coming to the community, Jones said.
Stark State is seeking a site that has easy access to the highway, ample free parking and is supported by public transportation.
Chapel Hill Mall, where the Macy’s department store is closing, is one of the potential sites, but Jones declined to identify the others.
Akron-area government and business leaders, including Jones, took a three-day trip in September to Greenville, S.C., where they saw a former shopping center that had been turned into a campus.
The University Center of Greenville houses branches for Anderson University, Clemson University, Furman, South Carolina State University, University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College.
That South Carolina project intrigued local leaders.
Jones said the Stark State campus could be on the outskirts of downtown Akron, but likely not in the city center because of the parking issue. The school says it needs anywhere from 1,600 to 1,800 parking spaces.
Community college students won’t pay for parking and want the campus to be convenient, Jones said.
Stark State has been working with the city and county to find a location. Horrigan said he just wants to see the school in the city.
With a site yet to be selected, it’s likely that the campus won’t be open by the fall. But Jones said she hopes classes could begin in January.
The campus will be built up in stages. A five-year plan estimates that there would be 5,000 students there.
Jones said that’s a conservative estimate.
Stark State has more than 12,000 students now.
“I know they are going to hit that 5,000,” Considine said.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.