In an effort to save money and better allocate resources, the University of Iowa is planning to close several off-campus centers — including the Tippie College of Business Cedar Rapids Learning Center on downtown’s Second Avenue SE.
The UI request to close that center — along with its Birchwood Learning Center in Davenport and its Scott Community College Learning Center in Bettendorf — will go before the Board of Regents for approval next week.
“Working professional students are overwhelmingly selecting online courses for their flexibility,” according to the request to close the Birchwood center — which houses space for the Professional Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs. “Offering both in-person and online has become an inefficient use of resources.”
UI officials gave the same reasons for wanting to close the Scott Community College center and the Tippie center in Cedar Rapids, where last year 101 students enrolled in the professional MBA program and 37 enrolled in the MSBA program.
The university did not immediately say how many of the 101 Cedar Rapids professional MBA students in 2023 — the highest enrollment since at least 2019 — were taking courses in person and how many were online only. It also did not immediately share specifics about the 37 students enrolled in the Cedar Rapids-based MSBA program.
“Current MBA and MSBA students in the TCOB Cedar Rapids Learning Center will be able to complete coursework through online offerings at the pace of their choosing and with more flexibility,” according to the UI request, which will take effect at the end of the current semester if approved by the board.
“There will be cost savings from no longer leasing space in Cedar Rapids,” UI officials reported. “Additionally, faculty resources can be focused on delivering the online program versus teaching courses at multiple in-person sites as well as online courses.”
The Birchwood Learning Center closure, like the one in Cedar Rapids, will affect UI professional MBA and MSBA in-person offerings, in that the location was used to offer those courses on the eastern side of the state.
But, unlike in Cedar Rapids, that location had seen enrollment drop from a total of 87 in 2020 to 13 total in 2022.
“Given the number of students applying to the Birchwood Center was so low that it would not be feasible to offer courses at that site, beginning in summer 2022 students applying to Birchwood were offered the option of moving to an online learning center.”
The University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business Cedar Rapids Learning Center is pictured Wednesday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
The university’s planned closure of its Scott Community College Learning Center will affect master of social work students — having opened about 50 years ago to serve the educational needs of students in the region.
“At that time, UI was the only (master of social work) program serving Iowa, and the demand for qualified social workers necessitated the opening of this educational center,” according to the request for closure.
The program originally was organized through the Quad Cities Graduate Study Center, a consortium of 10 universities, which eventually closed — prompting the UI to move its social work center to Scott Community College.
Enrollment at Scott Community was effected by two changes: closure of Marycrest University’s bachelor in social work program — a feeder for the UI master’s program at Scott — and the debut of St. Ambrose University’s master of social work degree, upping competition for students and practicum sites, according to the UI.
In its last recruitment push for the Scott Community program in spring 2021, the UI netted 10 applicants — all of whom were admitted, but eight took the online program. No students have been physically enrolled at the Scott Community College Learning Center since 2019.
“There has been a decrease in applications to the learning center, while at the same time, the program is expanding the online (master of social work) program due to increased demand,” according to the university. “It is anticipated prospects in the region of Scott Community College will apply to the online program.”
The UI master of social work program remains available at its main Iowa City campus, with 60 enrolled; the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Learning Center in Des Moines, with 79 enrolled; and through the UI online program, with 44 enrolled.
UI officials did not immediately disclose how much it has been paying to lease the spaces and how much the program closures could save. But they reported faculty resources would be better spent and students would be better served.
“This should remove barriers as it increases accessibility and convenience. No impact is expected on the Iowa workforce.”
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The UI request to close that center — along with its Birchwood Learning Center in Davenport and its Scott Community College Learning Center in Bettendorf — will go before the Board of Regents for approval next week.
“Working professional students are overwhelmingly selecting online courses for their flexibility,” according to the request to close the Birchwood center — which houses space for the Professional Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs. “Offering both in-person and online has become an inefficient use of resources.”
UI officials gave the same reasons for wanting to close the Scott Community College center and the Tippie center in Cedar Rapids, where last year 101 students enrolled in the professional MBA program and 37 enrolled in the MSBA program.
The university did not immediately say how many of the 101 Cedar Rapids professional MBA students in 2023 — the highest enrollment since at least 2019 — were taking courses in person and how many were online only. It also did not immediately share specifics about the 37 students enrolled in the Cedar Rapids-based MSBA program.
“Current MBA and MSBA students in the TCOB Cedar Rapids Learning Center will be able to complete coursework through online offerings at the pace of their choosing and with more flexibility,” according to the UI request, which will take effect at the end of the current semester if approved by the board.
“There will be cost savings from no longer leasing space in Cedar Rapids,” UI officials reported. “Additionally, faculty resources can be focused on delivering the online program versus teaching courses at multiple in-person sites as well as online courses.”
The Birchwood Learning Center closure, like the one in Cedar Rapids, will affect UI professional MBA and MSBA in-person offerings, in that the location was used to offer those courses on the eastern side of the state.
But, unlike in Cedar Rapids, that location had seen enrollment drop from a total of 87 in 2020 to 13 total in 2022.
“Given the number of students applying to the Birchwood Center was so low that it would not be feasible to offer courses at that site, beginning in summer 2022 students applying to Birchwood were offered the option of moving to an online learning center.”
Scott Community closure
The university’s planned closure of its Scott Community College Learning Center will affect master of social work students — having opened about 50 years ago to serve the educational needs of students in the region.
“At that time, UI was the only (master of social work) program serving Iowa, and the demand for qualified social workers necessitated the opening of this educational center,” according to the request for closure.
The program originally was organized through the Quad Cities Graduate Study Center, a consortium of 10 universities, which eventually closed — prompting the UI to move its social work center to Scott Community College.
Enrollment at Scott Community was effected by two changes: closure of Marycrest University’s bachelor in social work program — a feeder for the UI master’s program at Scott — and the debut of St. Ambrose University’s master of social work degree, upping competition for students and practicum sites, according to the UI.
In its last recruitment push for the Scott Community program in spring 2021, the UI netted 10 applicants — all of whom were admitted, but eight took the online program. No students have been physically enrolled at the Scott Community College Learning Center since 2019.
“There has been a decrease in applications to the learning center, while at the same time, the program is expanding the online (master of social work) program due to increased demand,” according to the university. “It is anticipated prospects in the region of Scott Community College will apply to the online program.”
The UI master of social work program remains available at its main Iowa City campus, with 60 enrolled; the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Learning Center in Des Moines, with 79 enrolled; and through the UI online program, with 44 enrolled.
UI officials did not immediately disclose how much it has been paying to lease the spaces and how much the program closures could save. But they reported faculty resources would be better spent and students would be better served.
“This should remove barriers as it increases accessibility and convenience. No impact is expected on the Iowa workforce.”
University of Iowa to close centers in Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities
In an effort to save money and better allocate resources, the University of Iowa is planning to close several off-campus centers — including the Tippie College of Business Cedar Rapids Learning Center on Second Avenue SE.
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