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Being 'College Town' Would Give Northeast Ohio Competitive Edge
CLEVELAND -- The Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education has begun work on a multi-year work force development project to enroll more students in northeast Ohio colleges and universities, engage them in the life of the community while they are here, and graduate them into the regional work force."Recent research shows that cities can grow wealthier without necessarily growing bigger. Austin, Boston and San Diego are examples of that," says Charles Hickman, council executive director. "The way they do it is by growing their student population, fostering strong connections to the larger off- campus community among those students during their period of study, and cultivating employment opportunities for an educated work force."A recent study by CEOs for Cities, a national organization dedicated to advancing cities' economic competitiveness, identified higher education as the leading predictor of economic growth in American cities in the 1990s. The study found that for each two percent growth in the proportion of college graduates a region has, and keeps, that region enjoys one percent in income growth."There is no reason why we should be training the work force of other states," Hickman says. "We need to do a better job of explaining that northeast Ohio is an education hub of significant proportion -- making it a center of innovation, creativity, energy, vibrancy and youth."Northeast Ohio's 23 colleges and universities collectively enroll 160,000 degree-seeking students, employ 27,000 faculty and staff, and have an annual budget of about $2.3 billion, he notes.The Cleveland Foundation awarded the council a $100,000 grant for initial planning and development work for this $5 million initiative, tentatively named OneCampus NEO.The council has been working with Collegia, a Boston consulting firm that connects colleges with their communities to ensure the potential economic dividends of their higher education assets are captured through effective talent development, student engagement and graduate retention programs. Collegia recently interviewed 100 local students at 12 council member institutions to identify challenges and opportunities.The major ones include:No regional identity. Students not from northeast Ohio have a weak concept of "northeast Ohio."Suitcase schools. A significant proportion of students commute, don't live on campus or go home on the weekends.Isolation. Students were unaware of how many students from other colleges and universities are actually in the area, but wanted more information on how they could connect.Mobility. When the college or university is not situated in the city core, transportation to the city (and parking) for leisure or internships can be a major challenge.Positive off-campus associations. The area's culture, sports teams, Warehouse District and club scene, park systems and diversity are among selling points for students.Planning will begin shortly to determine how to leverage strengths, address weaknesses and engage academia, the business community and civic leadership in promoting OneCampus NEO across the 13-county region. The initiative is CEOs for Cities' 2004 outreach project locally -- an acknowledgement that, in northeast Ohio, knowledge factors have become increasingly more important across all sectors as ingredients of economic success."Higher education is where the knowledge economy -- talent, technology and capital -- comes together," says Jim Rooney, director of policy for CEOs for Cities. "Between 1990 and 2000, the largest city in northeast Ohio -- Cleveland -- experienced 28% growth in its college-educated population. It's not coincidental that per capita income grew 14% during this period. The region can continue to grow its economy by leveraging its higher education assets even more aggressively."Member Institutions include Baldwin-Wallace College, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Lakeland Community College, Lorain County Community College, Malone College, Mt. Union College, Myers University, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies, Stark State College of Technology, The University of Akron, Ursuline College, Walsh University and Youngstown State University."