Some University of Akron professors are concerned about the arrival of UA’s future neighbor, Stark State College, one of the nation’s fastest-growing public two-year colleges.
Stark State recently announced plans to build a 50,000-square-foot, $11.5 million satellite facility on 11 acres along state Route 8 at the Perkins Street exit — right in UA’s backyard.
The community college wants to open its Akron branch in two years, expanding from its main campus in Jackson Township and satellite centers in Alliance, downtown Canton and Barberton.
In the meantime, the school is looking for a temporary site to launch some classes and recently launched radio ads urging area students to attend the Barberton branch.
Stark State’s expansion plans come at a tumultuous time for UA, which is facing a search for a new president and declining freshman enrollment, which now is down an estimated 23 percent for the upcoming fall compared to 2015 at this time.
Stark State is listed as 15th out of 1,200 public colleges with associate degrees nationwide that have at least doubled enrollment in the past 10 years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education (Aug. 21, 2015).
It averages 12,000 students per year, and enrollment has grown 172 percent in the past decade.
“Akron has been on our radar for several years,” said Marisa Rohn, Stark State’s executive director of advancement. “We listened to students, the community, city, county and business leaders who said they would like a true community college presence in Akron.”
But some UA professors said the move may be too close for comfort.
“This is a potential enrollment loss and a serious threat to the university,” said Philip Allen, a UA professor in the psychology department. He also expressed his concerns last month at a special Faculty Senate meeting of about 60 professors who met with former UA President Scott Scarborough.
Scarborough and the UA board of trustees reached a deal to end his tenure as president this week.
Allen, along with several other professors, said UA would be unable to withstand what they estimate could be an additional 10 percent to 20 percent enrollment loss.
Valuable students
The professors suggested that if people take two years of coursework at Stark State and then transfer to UA, the university will take a big enrollment hit. Freshmen and sophomores generate more money for the university than upperclassmen because of smaller upper-level course class sizes, so having Stark State as a neighbor could seriously cut into UA’s bottom line, they said.
Allen said his other concern is Stark State’s commitment to the area and whether a levy will eventually be needed to keep the college in Akron. Cuyahoga Community College and Lakeland Community College in Lake County both get local taxpayer support in addition to state tax dollars.
Stark State officials said about 25 percent of the school’s students live in Summit County.
“Without doing a program by program comparison to see what overlaps with their curriculum and our curriculum, at the end of the day Stark State is our largest source for transfer students,” said UA board of trustees Chair Jonathan Pavloff. “So if there is a silver lining in this new development with them coming to town and having their own campus it’s the ability to form a stronger partnership and hopefully build on that relationship that already exists. … Students who have shown success for two years are more likely to stay engaged and complete their degree.”
Stark State’s comparably lower tuition could be a draw.
Annual tuition at Stark State College is about $153 per credit hour. It costs $4,608 for 30 credit hours, compared to annual tuition averages of $5,131 among Ohio’s two-year public colleges, $9,700 at four-year schools and $27,000 at private in-state colleges.
Cheaper alternatives
For students seeking affordable options, UA officials launched a program offering “GenEd Core” courses, mostly online, of several general college courses for $50 per credit hour. The classes include English composition, mathematics, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences. UA’s Wayne College also offers courses for roughly half the cost of the same courses on the main campus.
If Kent State University’s experience is any indication, Stark State’s arrival in Akron won’t necessarily have a negative impact on UA.
Kent State’s Stark branch is literally next door to the community college’s main facility.
“They are more collaborators than competitors,” said Dean Denise Seachrist of KSU-Stark. “Our missions are very different. Stark State offers two-year technical associate degrees and we are a four-year public institution. We offer bachelor degrees and four masters’ [degrees].”
Seachrist said 557 Stark State students transferred to Kent State in 2010 to continue their education. Last fall, that number grew to 740. KSU-Stark, the largest of the seven regional Kent State campuses, averages about 5,000 students a year.
Stark State awards associate degrees in business; education; engineering technologies; health, human and public services; information technology; liberal arts; mathematics and sciences. There are 280 programs available at Stark State and many degrees that transfer to a four-year institution.
Stark State also has 32 agreements with colleges statewide to help students transition from community college to four-year degree programs.
A record number of 756 degrees were awarded at Stark State’s spring commencement ceremonies on May 22.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.