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Regional campuses may become separate academic division

Miami University Dean of Regional Campuses Dr. Michael Pratt speaks during the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and Lindenwald Red Carpet luncheon on Thursday.

Staff photo by Samantha Grier. Miami University Dean of Regional Campuses Dr. Michael Pratt speaks during the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and Lindenwald Red Carpet luncheon on Thursday.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 8:38 PM Thursday, January 19, 2012

Miami University’s regional campuses are considering a plan to give them more autonomy from the main Oxford campus to offer programs more responsive to a changing economy.

In order to allow the regional campuses in Middletown and Hamilton to be more flexible to a changing job market and work force needs, there are talks going on at a variety of levels to give them more independence from Oxford by becoming a separate academic division, said Michael G. Pratt, dean of the regional campuses.

“Nothing is set in stone, and we’re continuing to seek input, but this looks like a way to make us more effective,” Pratt said. “We’ll continue to offer the Miami plan and continue to offer students a low-cost opportunity.”

Pratt made the announcement Thursday at the annual State of the Schools luncheon, a joint production among the Lindenwald Kiwanis Club, the Hamilton Rotary Club and the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

The university is Butler County’s top employer with about 3,400 workers, according to county economic development records.

Pratt explained that part of the reason he took the job two years ago was to help facilitate changes in the organization.

“President (David) Hodge said change always generates some heat and we’ll probably have some generated by our coming changes,” he said.

Already, the Hamilton and Middletown campuses have unified policies and procedures so that students moving betweeen campuses won’t have to learn two sets of rules, and the regional campuses are becoming more focused on four-year degrees instead of the traditional two-year programs, including a new degree in health information technology and a criminal justice degree that should be approved by the fall.

Pratt did not say how or if the change would affect the finances at the campuses.

He said many of the programs offered by the regional campuses are tied to other divisions and departments in Oxford, so everything needs to be vetted and discussed by everyone concerned, which makes it difficult to start new programs in a timely manner.

“If we have the organization the other academic divisions have, these decisions can be made at a much faster rate,” he said.

For instance, the planning of the health information technology degree took nearly two years of development, but more independence might cut that time to a year, he said.

“Nothing is totally worked out yet, but for current faculty and students, any changes would not impact them,” he said. “We’re looking at something that would take place down the road and may or may not impact future hires. We’re looking at something that will take place in the next two years at least.”

Pratt said the new structure is in response to changes in state policy for higher education and would allow public universities to play a more active role in helping “rebuild the new economy, whatever that may be.”

“We think the impact would be really positive, or we wouldn’t be doing it,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

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