MnSCU schools look to suburbs for growth

The four-year schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system are primarily a non-metro lot. That, however, is beginning to change.

Schools ranging from St. Cloud State to Minnesota State Moorhead to Southwest Minnesota State are joining Metropolitan State in offering classes in the Twin Cities, most of which are held on MnSCU's two-year campuses.

Minnesota State Mankato is making the biggest push into the suburbs. The school has held classes at Normandale Community College and several high schools in the south and southwest metro for more than a decade, but its presence is growing. On Thursday, the school held a grand opening for its own space in an office building just north of Interstate 494 on France Avenue in Edina.

The primary reasons behind MnSCU's suburban push are simple: It is where the system sees both opportunity for growth and need.

For students, the addition of the MnSCU schools to the metro area provides more economical higher education options and more choices for working adults and for traditional college students who want to live at home.

MSU Mankato's space -- which features a dozen classrooms, a computer lab and offices -- serves about 300 students this fall, but school officials expect that number to grow to about 2,000 over the next three years. And while the MSU Mankato flag will fly in front of the building and posters of some of the Mavericks sports teams hang on a bulletin board, students will be able to earn a bachelor's degree without ever making the 90-minute drive to the school's main campus.

MSU Mankato is initially marketing its Edina campus to working adults who want to finish four-year degrees.

MnSCU Chancellor James McCormick summed it up simply: "We're a statewide organization, and we have to address the need in the metro."

MnSCU isn't the only outstate college operation to move into the Twin Cities. St. Scholastica and St. Mary's, both private schools, run programs in the Twin Cities as well.

Adult education is a growth area for colleges and universities. According to Census Bureau statistics, there were about 1.1 million Americans older than 25 taking classes part time at four-year schools in 2006. Another 920,000 were taking classes part time at two-year schools.

"It's the market in the Twin Cities that's really expanding," said Collette Garrity, St. Scholastica's vice president in charge of its St. Paul classes. "The number of high school graduates in Minnesota is going to go down for the next five years, but the number of adult students who would potentially go back to school is going up. There's a lot of choice for students."

While it may not happen immediately, both McCormick and Davenport envision a scenario in which more traditional college-age students attend classes at the Edina facility.

MSU Mankato won't offer traditional freshman and sophomore classes at the new facility, leaving those to MnSCU's two-year institutions. However, the school does see an opportunity to land college-age commuter students.

For years, many of those students ended up at the University of Minnesota. That isn't as frequent now.

Gaining admission to the U of M is much more difficult than gaining admission to a MnSCU school. In addition, the number of true commuter students has dipped significantly in the last decade.

"We're very respectful of them, and I think the state needs a great research institution," McCormick said. "But we looked very carefully at their new direction and it gives us a clear signal."