Connecting colleges
BUDGET CUTS have hurt higher education. Money is still tight. But rather than wait for a golden age of state funding, the five public colleges of southeastern Massachusetts have joined forces to make their region smarter and more prosperous.
It's five musketeers out to pull more people into college classrooms, promote the region's culture and economy, and solve problems by sharing resources and expertise.
The group, called the Connect partnership, formed in 2003 and unites Bridgewater State College, Bristol Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Massasoit Community College, and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
A new report issued by the colleges lays out a vision of how the schools can plug the region into the high-skills economy by investing in human capital. Collaborating should give the schools greater impact in people's lives and at the State House. The schools should also be better able to cut administrative costs and meet regional needs: serving the immigrant population and adults without high school or college degrees, responding to a surge in elementary school enrollment and an aging teaching corps, and strengthening an economy where 17 percent of employers are manufacturers.
A key ingredient has been talking to businesses, government leaders, and residents to find out what the region needs. This led the five schools to develop a common writing program across the campuses, since most careers require competent writing skills. The schools' next step is to take the same approach with math, making sure that students have the basics needed for modern science- and technology-oriented workplaces.
Another challenge is promoting economic diversity -- training a workforce with flexible skills and providing technical assistance to the public and private sectors. An ongoing test for the partnership will be how quickly it responds to employers, designing programs that meet changing workplace needs and still fulfill the schools' educational missions.
The Connect partnership will do a great service if it can enhance the ability of local grade schools to create what John Sbrega, the president of Bristol Community College, calls ''one world of education" from ''pre-K to graduate school." It can also promote cultural tourism.
If the economy tumbles and state funding for public colleges dries up further, the Connect partnership will have a crucial role to play in figuring out how the five schools could work together to do more with less.
Ultimately, the schools will succeed if they become part of a broad landscape of regional achievement.
