ERIC EJ792556: Sharing University Intellectual Capital: The Role of Continuing Education

2005·0.15 MB·English

by  ERIC

Engines of Growth: Colleges Animate New England’s Economy
In a typical year, Greater Boston’s eight research their visitors, reverberates through the economy
universities secure more than 250 patents and creating a potent “multiplier” effect—one that an
spawn 40 startup companies. The University of industry of economic consulting firms is ready to
Connecticut generates $3.1 billion in economic calculate and package for legislators, regulators
activity and, among other things, brings a half and anyone else who needs hard data to know
million basketball and football fans to Greater that higher education is an economic goldmine.
Hartford. New Hampshire college students and
In reality, however, those are just surface impacts.
faculty perform $6 million in volunteer work. The
Colleges and universities power New England’s
University of Rhode Island employs 2,437 staff and
economy much more profoundly by nurturing
generates nearly $5 for every $1 it gets in state
technology transfer in cutting-edge fields from fuel
support. Despite its exemption from property taxes,
cells to genetics, by educating an enlightened,
Smith College can claim to be the largest taxpayer
tolerant citizenry, by developing the skilled
in the city of Northampton, Mass. workforce sought after by high-wage employers
and by rejuvenating urban and rural communities.
If New England campuses are prone to boasting
about their economic impact these days, it’s for To be sure, those benefits also have a way of
good reason. They spent about $20 billion last year “boomeranging” as college towns occasionally
on day-to-day operations including instruction, become victims of their own success.
research, building maintenance and student
Following are some diverse perspectives on higher
services. That spending, along with endless
education institutions as economic engines …
construction projects and considerable local
purchasing by the region’s 850,000 students and —J.O.H.
Sharing University Intellectual
Capital:
The Role of Continuing Education
HUGH O’NEILL
New England’s knowledge-based economy. They are
New England’s research universities are wide-
an important source of the new knowledge that drives
ly recognized as major contributors to the
the region’s growth. At both the undergraduate and
region’s economy. In many of the communi- graduate levels, they play a central role in meeting the
ties in which they are located, they rank among the region’s near-insatiable demand for people with higher-
level skills. Moreover, many of New England’s leading
largest employers. They purchase goods and ser-
universities have over the past decade become much
vices from New England companies, and are often
more effective at “technology transfer,” facilitating the
among the leading procurers of construction activity. translation of academic research into new businesses
Each year, they bring billions of dollars in federal and new jobs.
There is, however, one aspect of the research univer-
research funding into the region.
sities’ role in the regional economy that has not been
Research universities are not only significant
as widely recognized: some of New England’s leading
enterprises in their own right—they are also part
research universities are also leading providers of
of the infrastructure that supports other sectors of
continuing education for working adults. Harvard
14 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION
University’s Extension School, for example, has been For elected officials and other local leaders who
characterized as “Harvard’s best-kept secret.” The confront the challenge of ensuring that the continued
Extension School offers associate and bachelor’s growth of major universities benefits their communities,
degrees. It also offers post-baccalaureate certificate the record of Harvard, BU and other institutions in this
and master’s degree programs in a variety of career- field may suggest an area of real opportunity. Along with
oriented fields, including computer science, e-com- commitments to local hiring, involvement in efforts to
merce, publishing and communications, museum man- improve local schools, support for development of
agement, environmental management and teaching affordable housing and other “community benefit”
mathematics. In addition to enrolling in degree or certifi- requests, local leaders should look to career and contin-
cate programs, students may choose to take just one or uing education as an area in which their constituents
a few courses—either for career purposes or simply for can benefit from the presence of a major university.
personal enrichment. In the spring of 2002, 8,431 individ-
uals took courses at the Extension School, averaging
University continuing ed programs
about 1.7 course enrollments each. If the Extension
are not a substitute for high-quality
School were a freestanding community college, it would
be one of the largest in eastern Massachusetts. community colleges, but they can be
The Extension School’s students are very different
an extremely valuable addition.
from those who attend Harvard College or Harvard’s
graduate and professional schools. Whereas nearly
90 percent of all Harvard undergraduate and graduate Local officials could, for example, ask a university
students come from outside the Boston metropolitan to develop new associate-level or post-baccalaureate
area, nearly 90 percent of Extension School students certificate programs specifically targeted at helping
live in the five-county metropolitan Boston area. Their local residents prepare for (or advance in) careers in
median age is 30, and about 60 percent are women. fast-growing local industries. Or they could ask that
Harvard is not alone. Boston University’s the university provide management training programs
Metropolitan College, for example, is also a leading for local small business owners.
provider of continuing and career education in the Not all research universities, of course, have
Boston area. It also offers undergraduate, graduate and embraced career and continuing education to the
certificate programs—including a degree-completion extent that Harvard and Boston University have.
program for working adults who had once started col- Some see it as inconsistent with their primary mission.
lege, but never finished. Metropolitan College offers In these cases, local officials might produce better
courses at four locations in the Boston area—and also results for their communities by promoting university
provides specialized programs for corporate clients. collaboration with a local community college. Such
In some ways, focusing on continuing and career collaborations could involve university faculty in the
education makes good business sense for research uni- design and delivery of community college courses,
versities. It is the fastest-growing segment of the higher research internships for community college students
education market. Continuing education programs can and expanded student access to university libraries
also—at least for some institutions—provide a way to and other facilities.
spread fixed costs over a broader revenue base. There are many examples of such cooperative
More importantly, research universities’ involvement approaches; in Troy, N.Y., for example, years of collab-
in the market for career and continuing education can oration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and
be of great value to the communities in which these Hudson Valley Community College helped make
institutions are located. Research universities often Hudson Valley a leader in the education of associate-
bring to this market a variety of resources that other level engineering technicians.
providers may not be able to match: access to libraries, Whether through individual university initiatives or
laboratories and a wide array of on-line resources; the through partnerships with other institutions, an
ability to link career-oriented courses to cutting-edge expanded commitment to career and continuing educa-
research in fields like biotechnology and computer sci- tion for working adults can provide local communities
ence; opportunities to transition from undergraduate to with a way to ensure that the economic benefits of the
graduate-level programs; and a different set of connec- research university are widely shared.
tions into the job market. University continuing ed pro-
grams are not a substitute for high-quality community Hugh O’Neillis president of Appleseed Inc., a New
colleges, but they can be an extremely valuable addition York City-based consulting firm that works with
to the services that community colleges provide. colleges and universities and other types of organi-
zations to promote economic growth.
CONNECTION WINTER 2005 15