THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511170019
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The ODU-NSU satellite center - classrooms in an office building on Rosemont Road in Virginia Beach - is a rousing success. But its students will be better served if it is replaced by the proposed Virginia Beach Higher Education Center, to be built next to the Tidewater Community College campus on Princess Anne Road, possibly within two years.
The following figures underscore the current center's significance. Enrollment has soared to 4,000 since it opened in 1988. The students' average age is 33. Two-thirds are working full time. Ninety-five percent are students part time.
In other words, these are mostly productive adults, many with families, studying in their spare time to be more productive. They better serve society as they become more educated and productive, so surely it is in society's interest to help them further their education.
If the expanded Center is built, Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University would be the main universities offering classes. But the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech also have been invited to participate. Projections call for 7,000 students by 2001. Many more courses could be offered.
Virginia Beach Del. Robert ``Bob'' Tata called the proposed center ``the greatest thing that's happened to Virginia Beach that I could think of.'' If Virginia Beach could acquire both the university center and water, he said, the city would become ``highly desirable to high-tech firms.''
With mainly working adults for students, the center would aim to provide courses that area companies desire for their employees. Companies considering moving to Virginia Beach could be assured of an educated workforce, with courses designed to meet the companies' needs.
Also, the center would offer upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses, so students completing two years at Tidewater Community College could obtain a four-year degree or more next door, without making the possibly 50-mile round trip into Norfolk. Especially for working adults with families, time is precious.
ODU Acting President Jo Ann Gora emphasized that the new center would not be in competition with her school and NSU. She said it would be a ``no-frills, high-tech'' nontraditional school. For example, it wouldn't have athletic teams or student organizations like fraternities. It would have classrooms equipped to teach high-tech subjects.
The State Council of Higher Education approved the center Monday. The City Council has offered land. ODU, NSU and Virginia Beach have asked the governor for authorization to pay for the $15 million, 85,000-square-foot center with university revenue derived from sources which include private donations and fees for services.
All but one Virginia Beach legislator is Republican. All favor construction of the center. Presumably Republican Gov. George Allen will heed their wishes and support it in his new budget, due Dec. 8. He should.
Earlier this year, Virginia Beach legislators supported funding for the Tidewater Community College campus in downtown Norfolk, after Allen announced plans to withhold the money. Republican Sen. Ken Stolle of Virginia Beach told the Republican governor that the campus was a significant building block for Norfolk's downtown.
Now it's Norfolk legislators' turn to support an education effort in Virginia Beach. This is the wrong time for inter-city bickering.
Virginia Beach, with some 425,000 residents, is the largest city in the state, and still it has no state-supported university. The Virginia Beach Higher Education Center is needed as soon as possible as a lure for new businesses and as a chance for local workers to better educate themselves. by CNB