Legislation that would order the North Dakota Board of Higher Education to study new uses for four of the state's smaller colleges has several problems.
First, it's been offered by a Fargo lawmaker. Republican Rep. Bette Grande represents urban District 41, which stands to lose nothing if a small campus is privatized, and that seems to be the ultimate goal of her bill. That circumstance certainly won't be lost on rural and college-town lawmakers. Grande's legislation, after all, targets small state schools at Devils Lake, Bottineau, Valley City and Mayville.
Second, voters -- including voters in Fargo -- in 1998 confirmed their strong support for the state's large and small campuses by soundly rejecting (64 percent) an attempt to remove constitutional protection from the schools. The vote was the clearest expression of voter sentiment regarding the structure of the University System. They like it.
Third, enrollments are up at nearly every campus in the state. The demand for higher education is up, not only among traditional students, but also among older-than-average students, part-time students and North Dakotans who simply want to expand their knowledge or improve work skills.
Finally, the small campuses are specializing as much as they can. The higher ed system is trying to avoid duplication of specific disciplines while maintaining a core academic curriculum at each campus. That evolution is being guided by the state board; and it's also happening in response to a changing marketplace.
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Grande said she would like to see the schools taken off the state tax rolls and become centers of investment for private companies. She said the study should include the potential for sale or lease of the campuses.
That translates into closing the schools and converting them into -- what? -- low-wage telemarketing firms?
A college campus is more than classrooms and a sports team for a small city. The colleges are cultural centers, economic engines and places of youthful vitality. North Dakotans recognized those qualities in 1998, and still value them today.
Grande's proposal initially received a cool reception. The cooler the better. It should be rejected.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board
