Status decision imminent
Steven M. Miller, Jr.
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: Campus News
''We looked at the impact that the move would have on the town of Bridgewater,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''We wanted to offer doctoral degrees, to keep up with the changes that are taking place in higher education.''
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nancy Kleniewiski, said that the college would not offer a full range of degrees like law school or medical school. Instead, the college would focus on its strengths like education.
''The college would like to offer a degree in Educational Leadership,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''A program like this would be beneficial to the community of Southeastern Massachusetts.''
One of the other things the Board looked at is the increase in federal funding for grants and programs the college might be able to use.
''You would be surprised at how more willing the federal government will support funding for universities, rather than colleges,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''For example, the state of Connecticut made its colleges switch to university status. Once this happened they saw an increase in grant activity.''
Mohler-Faria emphasized that the change wouldn't happen overnight. ''It will take about 4-6 years for the college to make this transition,'' he said. ''We would need to look at how this will affect the average faculty member's workload, the student life on campus. It will also take some time to develop doctoral programs.'' In switching to a university the college would not increase in capacity. The plan would be to add and grow, but the overall quality of the education would not be affected. ''If we added more than we could handle with limited resources, then the quality of the education would diminish,'' said Mohler-Faria.
It is projected that the college would balloon to 10,500 to 11,000 students in about 5 to 6 years time. The total enrollment in the fall of 2005 was 8,872 students. ''Over time there would be an increase of enrollment rates,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''Once we saw more financial support and resources it would increase the quality of the student's experience.''
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nancy Kleniewiski, said that the college would not offer a full range of degrees like law school or medical school. Instead, the college would focus on its strengths like education.
''The college would like to offer a degree in Educational Leadership,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''A program like this would be beneficial to the community of Southeastern Massachusetts.''
One of the other things the Board looked at is the increase in federal funding for grants and programs the college might be able to use.
''You would be surprised at how more willing the federal government will support funding for universities, rather than colleges,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''For example, the state of Connecticut made its colleges switch to university status. Once this happened they saw an increase in grant activity.''
Mohler-Faria emphasized that the change wouldn't happen overnight. ''It will take about 4-6 years for the college to make this transition,'' he said. ''We would need to look at how this will affect the average faculty member's workload, the student life on campus. It will also take some time to develop doctoral programs.'' In switching to a university the college would not increase in capacity. The plan would be to add and grow, but the overall quality of the education would not be affected. ''If we added more than we could handle with limited resources, then the quality of the education would diminish,'' said Mohler-Faria.
It is projected that the college would balloon to 10,500 to 11,000 students in about 5 to 6 years time. The total enrollment in the fall of 2005 was 8,872 students. ''Over time there would be an increase of enrollment rates,'' said Mohler-Faria. ''Once we saw more financial support and resources it would increase the quality of the student's experience.''
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