A rocky start to the Metropolitan State University co-location project

-- Andrea Jackley and Vickie Evans-Nash

In 2005, Metropolitan State University and Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) announced a "co-location initiative." In other words, a shared campus space between the two schools to better serve their spatial needs.

For the past year and a half, Metropolitan State University and MCTC have been working together to create a combined campus in downtown Minneapolis. A group made up of faculty and service staff collaborated to ensure a smooth transition to the new location.

Until the move, Metropolitan State University had been housing its Minneapolis campus in a small space on Eighth Street and Hennepin Avenue. The relocation to MCTC’s much larger campus, just blocks away at 16th and Hennepin Avenues, has enabled both schools to offer additional space for popular programs.

A Minnesota State Colleges and Universities' (MnSCU) purchase of additional land surrounding MCTC in January 2004, formerly the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, prompted the decision to bring the Metropolitan State University and MCTC Minneapolis campuses together. The master plan for the site was to develop a more practical, useful and appealing property for both schools.

Faculty Union President, David Bouchard, was a part of this process. He explained that not all of the outcomes have been completely successful. As a part of this transition, small groups discussed and proposed possible changes; but according to Bouchard, the changes came slowly and were not always effective. Currently these groups have given their proposal to administration to quickly resolve important issues.

"There are two main concerns in co-location: The ability to offer classes and providing good administrative services to the students," Bouchard said. He gave an example of students seeking classes, programs and services offered by Metropolitan State University but being unable to locate them on the Minneapolis campus because of the lack of directional signs.

"Our main goal was to be able to serve the students well." Miscommunication was working against this primary goal.

Besides providing a strong link between student needs and services, class options were also a concern. Although Metropolitan State University and MCTC were aware that there would have to be some negotiating regarding the classes offered, Metropolitan State University was under the impression that this would be a concern for mainly lower level, or general education, courses.

MCTC is primarily a two-year college and offers a wider range of lower division programs. Metropolitan State University specializes in upper division and graduate level programs, with less than 25 percent of its students enrolled in lower division programs.

Cultural differences between the college and university seem to have gotten in the way. "It is important for Metropolitan State to be able to define upper division offerings in Minneapolis as a part of its graduate program mission," said Bouchard.

Along with class options was the challenge of scheduling classrooms. "Scheduling had to be done through MCTC, and Metropolitan State’s classes were often bumped because all rooms were fair game," said Bouchard. Metropolitan State University also needed to schedule rooms. "We had the same level of responsibility, but because of the level of coordination involved in making changes, there was no longer enough authority to effectively resolve the issues."

Metropolitan State University President, Wilson Bradshaw, commented on the progress of the co-location. "We’ve been on site for a year and a half, and we’ve learned a lot in that year and a half," said Bradshaw. "There are things we can do better, but we’re listening to everyone involved and making adjustments."

"There are always cultural differences—they are a college and we are a university," said Bradshaw. "They teach at the lower division and we teach at the upper division. It has been a challenge."

When asked if the two schools were competitive by nature, Bradshaw replied, "[Metropolitan State University] is an upper division and graduate program school, so the schools are not directly competitive."

Bouchard said that because of loss of authority and several people working on little issues, it has become difficult to see the big picture. In order to address the big picture, administrators at both MCTC and Metropolitan State University are working to move forward. There is a meeting set for July where those changes will be announced and discussed. Both Bradshaw and MCTC President, Phil Davis, are reviewing the changes.

Bouchard feels confident that by the time classes start in the fall, students will not be negatively affected by the previous concerns. Students have not been polled for concerns, although Bradshaw admits, "it’s something we need to do."

So, is the current Minneapolis campus location for Metropolitan State University shaping up to be better than the undersized campus on Eighth Street and Hennepin Avenue? "The previous location was always understaffed, but because the staff was able to operate on their own it was easier to make the necessary changes to meet the needs of the students," said Bouchard. "Many of the problems that were previously resolved in three steps were taking six or seven steps after the co-location, and each step had its own set of problems and delays."

"It would be premature to call it a rousing success or dismal failure," said Bradshaw. He made it clear the university has no plans for moving out. Bradshaw said quite confidently when addressing the situation, "We’re there to stay."