Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010 - (Page 41)

June 7, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page M41 Focus: Business Education From Page M40 plans to lease about 30,000 square feet in downtown Ann Arbor for classroom space to house the college’s rapidly growing student body, which has increased by more than 2,000 students in the past 18 months to about 31,000 students. Ann Arbor real estate firm McKinley Inc. made an attractive lease offer for the space to WCC, and the college even commissioned an architect to design the build-out. “Until we started to do all our calculations and found out how big a hit we were going to take, we thought we could accommodate this extra growth with additional classrooms,” Whitworth said. “Well, we can’t do it.” WCC’s example of the type of shelved strategic initiative also underscores a major plotline: dramatic enrollment increases. Enrollment is at or near all-time highs at every major community college. Career-focused retraining programs are in high demand as displaced workers seek to increase their skill sets and become credentialed in emerging industries. This trend, which leads to increased tuition revenue, still puts additional stress on the resources of community colleges. “Never has the profile of the community college been greater,” Ivery said. “In terms of our ability to be responsive at a time when you have a paradigm shift in the workplace, what better institution to be around to be able to respond to these issues.” Redesigning for the future Spurred by the prospect of an uncertain financial future and the growing demand for its educational offerings, OCC has begun a comprehensive redesign of its operations, administration and academic offerings. Meyer “That’s really the thrust of our redesign efforts, to ensure that we’re compatible with the future in so far as being a community leader,” OCC’s Meyer said. “The time is now for a variety of reasons. Michigan is changing — the economy, society, the culture of Michigan is changing — and so goes the needs and wants, educationally, of our society.” The process is about two months under way. Three groups will guide a process to evaluate the efficiency, need and cost of every aspect of the college’s operation — from what classes are offered where, to the administrative and academic structures, to facilities. Recommendations are expected by October, and the structural overhaul of the college is slated to begin in November. The redesign is a “clean-sheet” approach, Meyer said, where college staff, administrators and faculty determine the most efficient methods and best practices with no preset structure or restraints that could inhibit efficiency. Meyer said everything is under review and all sorts of potential changes may be implemented. For example, rather than offering English classes across its fivecampus network, English may be consolidated to one or two locations if that would be more efficient and maintain access and quality. The goal, Meyer said, is to craft the most-efficient model for what OCC needs to be, potentially saving millions in operating costs. WCCCD is also working on a redesign of sorts, Ivery said. Like at OCC, certain academic offerings may be consolidated to one or two of WCCCD’s campuses, with other programs taking their place. Mike Dotson, WCCCD’s vice chancellor of campus operations services, says the college district is past the point of belt tightening and has to examine how it fundamentally does business. Among the options being reviewed by WCCCD, Ivery said, is examining potential relationships with municipalities in which it operates to share costs, he said. Another example is its plan for a “Corporate College,” where its eastern campus in Detroit near the intersection of I-94 and Gratiot Avenue will be financially self-sustaining by 2012. The college will focus on providing career-oriented and vocational training for emerging fields such as renewable energy, computer science and geothermal technologies, funded by a combination of federal grants and private donations, Ivery said. If successful, the corporate college has the potential to save WCCCD about $18 million in annual spending, according to Ivery’s financial team. Today, more than ever, global competition and corporate streamlining require innovative thinking and leadership abilities. Continuing your education can be key to ensuring your success. From business administration and global leadership to defense and alternative energy, Lawrence Technological University offers graduate degrees and fast-track certificate programs to prepare you for the jobs of the future. 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MCC has had some success recently, raising $10 million in the past four months, including a $5 million federal grant to fund a program to retrain workers for the defense industry, Jacobs said. “That’s something that we want to do and we think is a value to the community, to the companies and to the workers themselves,” he said. Jacobs also said there is good potential for fundraising among the more than 100,000 MCC alumni, many of whom live in Macomb County. “There aren’t going to be very many very wealthy donors who are going to generously donate many millions of dollars, but there are going to be large numbers of alumni who I think were put on the payrolls of society through our own activities who are going to be willing to see that others will be following them in institutions like Macomb,” he said. “We have a strategy that is based on having good friends in low places giving us regular donations.” Ryan Beene: (313) 446-0315, rbeene@crain.com Michigan State University College of Law THE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW is a progressive law school with a proud reputation for excellence. An MSU legal education is increasingly recognized by employers throughout the nation and abroad. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010
In this Issue
Economic Makeover
Lesson Plan for Education Reform
Teaming Up for Action
Time for a Cultural Revolution
Defense Mechanism
Slowing the State's Brain Drain
Intern, Employers of the Year

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010