SD6 - A Study of the Program Needs, Collaborative Issues, and Ownership and Management Issues Related to the Establishment of the Roanoke Higher Education Center


Executive Summary:
Senate Bill 1180, passed in 1997, established the Roanoke Higher Education Authority (RHEA) and authorized it to create the Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC). The purpose of the RHEA, as accomplished through the RHEC, is to expand access to higher education in the Roanoke Valley by providing continuing education and degree-granting programs The RHEA is to accomplish this through partnerships with the Commonwealth's public and private institutions of higher education.

However, in the absence of information on the extent of such educational needs, the General Assembly delayed the funding of the RHEA until 1998, and asked the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to conduct a programmatic assessment of such needs.

The Council commissioned the Weldon Cooper Center at UVA to undertake a study of demographics related to the educational needs of the Roanoke Valley. Their findings showed that the area was below state averages in educational attainment. The study also indicated that the future industrial base of the Roanoke Valley required an emphasis on completion of secondary schooling and specific technical training rather than on the completion of degree programs.

A survey by the Council revealed an extensive array of degree programs already offered within the RHEC's operating area by the state's public and private institutions. While many of these programs are on an 'out-reach' basis, no major gaps in offerings were detected by the Council's study. The survey also indicated a very large number of not-for-credit programs in place or proposed for the RHEC operating area.

While no specific program voids were detected by the Council's research, a large scale need for the RHEC to coordinate the promotion and provision of existing program offerings was identified. Such coordination would benefit the citizens of the Roanoke Valley and offer cost-efficiency for all parties involved.

Towards the end of how the RHEC could best fulfill this coordinating function, the Council researched both in and out-of-state circumstances that could offer conceptual approaches for the RHEA. The study identifies the Southwest Virginia Educational Center and the Dallas Educational Center as two operations that could serve as models for the RHEA and RHEC. In short, these models suggest that the RHEC operate as a 'brokering' function, bringing together the needs of the population with the resources of the institutional and other program providers in the area.

The key issue for the RHEC is the selection of a physical facility that provides a cost-efficient approach to its prospective brokerage function. Recognizing that the RHEC will be a partnership that includes the localities involved, the students using the services, the institutions providing the programs, and the state, the RHEA must submit operational and capital budgets that represent a fair sharing by all these constituents.

The Council's research identified the numbers of Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES) that would use the RHEC to pursue degree programs. However, it was not able to obtain accurate numbers of those who would attend purely personal or workforce development programs at the RHEC. The numbers attending degree programs can be translated directly into a facility square footage requirement, using educational standards. Without the numbers who might attend not-for-credit programs, the study does not offer a total square footage that the RHEC would need in a facility. However, the study does provide a formula for converting the headcounts of not-for-credit program attendees into square footage requirements.

These findings in the study suggest that the first priority for the RHEA is to contact the many agencies that provide personal and workforce development programs in the Roanoke Valley, and establish who would use the facility and how many individuals would be involved. The RHEA must then suggest a facility that fills the consequent space needs. Finally, it must provide a financing plan for the facility that takes into account the participating institutions' underwriting of their 'fair' share of costs, the contributions of localities, interested private parties, and program attendees, and the underwriting provided by the state.