Forget campus, fund education

The UW North branch campus never made any sense and the last ditch attempt by Reps. Hans Dunshee and Mike Sells to make the campus law, without funding, location or timetable is laughable. Only The Herald, which long ago signed on as the ad firm for the project, would characterize this as sensible. (Sunday editorial.)

We have six primary university campuses (plus many branch locations) serving the needs of traditional students, yet we see dropout rates approaching 50 percent at some schools. Studies, including “A Test of Leadership” by the Secretary of Education, show that finances and preparation are two of our biggest barriers to college success, not geographic proximity. Further, we see that online and blended education models are booming, making place unimportant. Unless, of course, your goal is construction spending.

We can deliver post-secondary education in the tri-county area at a fraction of the cost of a new campus. I would ask local legislators to give up UW North and commit themselves to breaking down barriers to education in 2008. Go to Bellingham, Ellensburg and Cheney and talk to their presidents. They offer several bachelor and master degree programs locally now, but find out how the Legislature can help to expand them further. Find out how we can speed up articulation agreements and fund development of effective online coursework. Go to Everett CC’s University Center for North Puget Sound and see what they need to expand. We have plenty of campuses, what we need now is to make the pieces of the system work together.

Building a 1960s university won’t benefit generations of Snohomish County citizens, but it will saddle them with a mountain of debt. We want increased education opportunity now, not a new campus 20 years from now.

Corey Smith