After long process, regional campus identity confirmed

By Rebecca Huff, Senior Staff Writer

The final word is in. No more petitions, no more public forums and no more confusion. Miami University's regional campuses are rebranding and adapting.

The Board of Trustees approved the recommendations outlined by the Process Committee at the Friday, May 1 meeting.

Miami regionals will be semiautonomous and will likely begin to offer 16 to 18 four-year degrees. By the fall of 2015, bachelor's degrees in liberal studies, information technology and commerce will be offered at the regional locations.

"Everything that I've put into Miami has been really good and I'm glad that I was able to stay patient with the process and all the committees," said Adam Davisson, a junior regional student. "All these changes seem like good changes."

At the Trustees meeting, President David Hodge spoke about the branding on the diploma.

"Following the recommendations of the Process Committee, the divisional distinctions will remain on the diploma as they are now, but renaming the regional campuses as something else," Hodge said. "Something else needs to have both a broad name so that everybody is under the same tent and also an indication that they are the regionals."

The Trustees also approved the Bachelor of Science in applied communications and the MS in criminal justice, which will be sent to the Ohio Board of Regents for review. A full list of the approved recommendations can be found on Miami's website and will be implemented by July 2016.

Vice President Elect of the Criminal Justice Society Joshua Ray Click expressed his relief.

"If the regionals didn't have a Masters in Criminal Justice I would have had to [go] to UC," Click said.

A recent report of 2013-14 graduates of Miami's College of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences showed that 100 percent of graduates in the Criminal Justice program were employed or enrolled in school by fall 2014.

"I am very excited and I feel this program will be one of the top programs in Ohio - if not in country," Click said. "Because of the hardworking faculty and students, I have hope in Miami and the program."

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With the changes taking place, there's been some talk about residential housing for the regional campuses; however, Hodge did not support it.

"We don't want to add that layer of complexity to the regional campuses," he said, "but we're very happy to have the private sector consider providing options for students and so forth."

Not everything is changing. The path to relocate to Oxford will remain as well as the ability to swirl (taking classes at more than one campus). Regional students who wish to transfer to Oxford will still be able to do so, but with suggested advising, according to the resolution.

"At the end of the day, this is all about making sure the students have the greatest number of opportunities and best pathway to success," Hodge said.