About 20 years after state officials stripped Western State College in Gunnison of its ability to offer graduate education, school officials are asking lawmakers to authorize a limited number of programs.
Western president Jay Helman said about 200 teachers flock to his campus each summer to take graduate classes.
But the credit they earn is issued by Adams State College because Western is prohibited from providing graduate-level credit.
Students must pay an additional $85 processing fee to Adams and receive credits in the name of a school they didn’t attend.
The arrangement, Helman said, “just doesn’t make sense” and leaves Western feeling like a “second-class citizen.”
In 2005-2006, Adams took in $51,300 in fees to award the credits, according to state documents. Even so, Adams president David Svaldi said he’s not opposed to allowing Western to offer some graduate programs.
“I think it’s good for the students and good for the state. I think competition is a good thing,” Svaldi said.
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education stripped Western’s authority as part of a policy to consolidate graduate programs for efficiency, spokesman John Karakoulakis said.
“In the late ’80s, early ’90s, it was decided that Western didn’t need these graduate programs when really what we’ve seen up to now is they do,” he said.
Mesa State College in Grand Junction was granted the authority to offer some graduate programs in 1994, spokeswoman Dana Nunn said.
It now offers master’s degrees in business administration and education.
The authority, she said, helps the college be more responsive to the community’s needs.
“Teachers in western Colorado who live in the proximity of Grand Junction can get their graduate work done here without having to move someplace else for the summer,” Nunn said.
Democratic Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison is sponsoring legislation that she said would strengthen an institution that generates $20 million annually for the area.
House Bill 1014 passed the House unanimously last month and is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday. Curry said she doesn’t know of any opposition to the legislation.
If the legislation becomes law, it would take a year to 18 months for any program to be accredited, Helman said.
Chris Frates can be reached at cfrates@denverpost.com or 303-954-1633.
