Many students and alumni know relatively little about the University's satellite branch to the southwest in Wise, Va. Although branch colleges tend to fly under the radar, and there is a misconception among some that such colleges channel funding away from a university's main branch, the University benefits from its Wise campus in numerous ways. Foremost among these reasons is simply that branch locations help a public university serve its public mission and offer educational opportunities to more students than it could accommodate otherwise.
In terms of governance, the College at Wise exercises considerable autonomy, but its senior administrators report to officials in Charlottesville. The College may be a separate institution in many ways, but the University's Board of Visitors is the governing body for both campuses and exercises "complete oversight" of the College at Wise, Secretary to the Board Susan Harris said. For example, the University of Virginia's College at Wise Committee can draw up the school's budget, but the Board must approve it, College spokesperson Kathy Still said. Additionally, College Chancellor David J. Prior reports to University President Teresa A. Sullivan. Nevertheless, the College is not simply a smaller, adjunct campus of the University, but its own institution with attributes that distinguish it from the Charlottesville branch. For example, whereas the University caters to many disciplines like engineering and architecture, the College is marketed as a liberal arts school.
The most important feature of satellite branches is that they enable state universities to fulfill their public obligations. Specifically, the College at Wise helps the University better serve the people of Virginia by providing an opportunity for higher education and economic development in rural southwest Virginia - an area that has relatively few four-year colleges compared with other parts of the state. The Wise campus enables the University to provide access to higher education for many students while giving it the flexibility needed to keep enrollment manageable at the main institution and remain among the more competitive public colleges in the country.
The off-the-cuff response many students and alumni have to lending the University's name to a smaller branch college is that it may diminish the institution's general reputation. Others argue such campuses also could sap already limited resources. But other universities have prospered from arrangements with their satellite institutions. Revenue from California State University's Irvine campus, for example, exceeds its annual expenditures by $6 million, thus benefitting CSU's main campus at Fullerton. Meanwhile, the University of North Carolina system is looking to expand its number of branches to take pressure off its main campuses as the state looks to increase enrollment. Although the University need not benefit financially from its stake in branch colleges like the one in Wise, it could follow the UNC model and use such locations to mitigate pressure from the General Assembly to issue more degrees and increase the percentage of in-state students in Charlottesville.
Another opportunity has recently presented itself, as the New College Institute of Martinsville considers moving under the banner of a larger, existing state institution. It is too early in the process to determine if this is a feasible or prudent move for the University - neither administrators nor the Board have begun serious conversations about the idea - but the possibility should not be written off. A Martinsville branch could serve an area without many higher education opportunities, similar to the College at Wise.
University students and alumni who may oppose such a plan ought to consider how such expansions may help the institution meet its long-term goals. The governor has made it clear that he wants Virginia colleges to award 100,000 more degrees during the next 15 years. Unless those individuals wish to see the University's main branch grow substantially by state directive, the institution must be willing to work with political leaders to meet the commonwealth's goals for higher education.
Read More
EDITORIAL: U.Va. needs to promote better artificial intelligence policies
By Editorial Board | YesterdayA better method of controlling AI use in classrooms comes with collaboration and communication — the University should set a clear policy-making process for professors.
PAYNE: U.Va.’s acquisition of the FEI directly harms the children of Charlottesville
By Michael Payne | 3 days agoThe Department of Education rescinded its award to CCS and gave the FEI property to the University instead.
COHEN: Charlottesville must embrace a comprehensive solution to homelessness
By Ryan Cohen | 5 days agoThe city has made several past efforts to reduce homelessness, but the growing number of unhoused people suggests that these temporary solutions are simply not enough.
