Local colleges should keep trying to cooperate

Some 120 years ago, Great Falls got fleeced.

Back when Copper King politics dominated state government, the Montana Legislature created the bulk of what eventually became the state university system.

OPINION Great Falls Tribune

City founder Paris Gibson offered both land and money to have a state school located in Great Falls. Instead, colleges were awarded to Bozeman, Missoula, Dillon and Butte.

Higher education has struggled here since that decision in 1893.

The fact is, Great Falls will never be a university town the likes of Bozeman or Missoula.

But higher-ed prospects are improving, especially in the last few years. With continued effort, hard lobbying and cooperation, Great Falls can build on the smaller schools it does have to create a top-notch educational center.

The two main players are the University of Great Falls and the Montana State University College of Technology-Great Falls. News from both is encouraging.

There were a few tough years at UGF, which saw declines in enrollment and red ink on the budget.

For a while, the school became known as a great place for older, nontraditional students who often took classes only part time.

That attraction remains, but now UGF is focused on recruiting more traditional, full-time students.

The result is that student numbers stabilized and the budget balanced this fall for the first time in five years. There’s also far less griping from staff and faculty.

"Everybody is rowing the boat in the same direction," said Joe Fontana, dean of education and professional services.

MSU-Tech, meanwhile, continues to refine its programs and saw record enrollment this fall.

In fact, the school now is wrestling with how to fit all its programs and students into its increasingly cramped quarters.

With the two schools in rock-throwing distance of each other, it makes sense for them to find areas in which they can cooperate.

It’s not always easy. Earlier efforts to allow students to take classes at either campus failed because of the huge difference in tuition charged by each school. And there’s competition between the two for at least some students.

But there is room for discussion, for example, about allowing two-year graduates of MSU-Tech and MSU-Northern in Great Falls to finish out their four-year degrees at UGF. There also may be opportunities for such shared facilities as libraries or labs.

Officials from both schools say they’re open to such discussions. We encourage them to be as proactive as they can.

Given Great Falls’ size and location, it makes sense to optimize the educational opportunities here.

That means adding options for four-year degrees and expanding online and distance-learning options.

Meanwhile, Great Falls needs to beef up its lobbying of the Montana Legislature to ensure better funding for the campus and programs here.

Granted, it’s been some time since the Legislature cheated us out of a major campus. There’s no point holding a 120-year grudge, but we should make sure that Great Falls gets its fair share in the future.

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