AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY. SUBJECT: Hagerstown Business College as a Degree-Granting Institution

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1 Martin O Malley Governor Anthony G. Brown Lt. Governor Kevin M. O Keefe Chairman AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY SUBJECT: Hagerstown Business College as a Degree-Granting Institution COMMITTEE: Education Policy Committee DATE OF COMMISSION MEETING: March 8, 2007 STAFF: David E. Sumler SUMMARY: Hagerstown Business College, a for-profit associate degree-granting institution since 1973, located in Hagerstown, Maryland, has applied to operate as a senior degree-granting institution offering baccalaureate degrees. As part of their application, Hagerstown Business College has indicated the intent to offer the following degree programs: Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration Bachelor of Science in Information Technology RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Maryland Higher Education Commission approve the application of Hagerstown Business College to offer baccalaureate degrees in the specified programs contingent upon completion of a final site visit prior to the first class for the baccalaureate programs. MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION 839 Bestgate Rd Suite 400 Annapolis, MD T F TTY for the Deaf

2 Martin O Malley Governor Anthony G. Brown Lt. Governor Kevin M. O Keefe Chairman M E M O R A N D U M DATE: March 8, 2007 TO: Maryland Higher Education Commission FROM: Education Policy Committee STAFF: David E. Sumler SUBJECT: Hagerstown Business College as a Degree-Granting Institution Hagerstown Business College, a for-profit associate degree-granting institution since 1973, located in Hagerstown, Maryland, has applied to operate as a senior degree-granting institution offering baccalaureate degrees. As part of their application, Hagerstown Business College has indicated the intent to offer the following degree programs: Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration Bachelor of Science in Information Technology This constitutes a new degree level for Hagerstown Business College. Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) Title 13B states that If an institution already approved by the State wishes to offer an instructional program not specified in the institution s certificate of approval the institution shall submit a prospectus and a request for approval or recommendation through its governing board to the Commission. On March 10, 2005, Hagerstown Business College submitted the Stage One Proposal and Academic Program Prospectus to operate in the State of Maryland as a senior degree-granting institution offering baccalaureate degrees. The Maryland Higher Education Commission notified Hagerstown Business College, on August 9, 2005, that they had met the criteria set forth in COMAR 13B C(1)b(i) and (ii) for Stage One of the institutional approval process and they were permitted to proceed with a Stage Two application. Hagerstown Business College submitted their Stage Two application in the form of a Self-Study to the Commission on January 3, On August 7-8, 2006, an on-site evaluation of Hagerstown Business College was conducted by a team of five members of the Commission staff and one out-of-state consultant, as specified in COMAR. The team carefully reviewed the Self-Study prior to the on-site visit. The team requested that a total of 134 additional pieces of documentation be made available during the onsite visit. A total of 34 interviews were held with 22 different officers, administrators, staff members, faculty, and students. MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION 839 Bestgate Rd Suite 400 Annapolis, MD T F TTY for the Deaf

3 As a result of the review, the Commission staff identified a number of deficiencies related to mission, admissions, graduation requirements, faculty, library, facilities, and finance. In response to the evaluation report, Hagerstown Business College developed a detailed and comprehensive response to each of the deficiencies and recommendations in the Commission s report. Hagerstown Business College has already implemented changes related to mission, admissions, graduation requirements, library, and finance that specifically address the concerns raised in the team report. It is the Commission staff s assessment that Hagerstown Business College is now in compliance with COMAR in these specific areas. Regarding the issues raised related to faculty and facilities, Hagerstown Business College has provided a detailed plan of how they will meet the minimum requirements provided in COMAR prior to the start of classes for the baccalaureate programs. As a result, Hagerstown Business College is now capable of meeting the minimum requirements for offering baccalaureate degrees in the State of Maryland. A final site visit will be required by the Commission before classes begin for students in the baccalaureate programs in order to ascertain full compliance with COMAR. The Maryland Higher Education Commission s evaluation team report and Hagerstown Business College s response were provided in the January 10, 2007 Education Policy Committee meeting packet, which you received. Need and Program Duplication At the Education Policy Committee meeting, the University System of Maryland (USM) and Frostburg State University (FSU) expressed continued opposition to the approval of Hagerstown Business College as a baccalaureate institution. The USM and FSU stated a belief that HBC s programs would constitute an unreasonable duplication of programs that FSU and the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) were offering or planned to offer at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown regional higher education center. Because the issue of need for the proposed programs was also raised before the Education Policy Committee at the time the Secretary presented his Stage One approval of the HBC application, the Secretary requested that HBC submit additional data and information relating to (1) the student demand for these programs and (2) the workforce need for graduates of these programs. In response, HBC commissioned a formal marketing study by a market research and data collection firm based in Provo, Utah. The study included an employer survey and an analysis of demographic data encompassing the counties of Frederick and Washington in Maryland; Franklin County, Pennsylvania; and Berkeley County, West Virginia. These four counties contribute 90% of HBC s current enrollment. The marketing study focused on several factors in these four counties: (1) projected growth of the total population; (2) projected growth in the workforce 16-years and older; (3) projected growth of high school graduates; (4) new and replacement openings requiring a bachelor s degree. Both the total population and the over-16 workforce are projected to grow rapidly. The total population of the four-county region is to increase by 51% from The region s annual growth rate (5.6%) greatly exceeds the national rate (1.0%). The total labor force is expected to grow by 8.6% by 2010 (a 24,788 increase between 2006 and 2010), a period of only four years. The State of the Workforce Report 2003 of the Governor s Workforce Investment

4 Board (GWIB) projects equally rapid growth of the Western Maryland workforce. Moreover, the GWIB report points out that Seventeen percent (17%) of total Western Maryland employment is in occupations requiring a Bachelor s degree. and Twenty-six percent (26%) of job openings created by economic growth require a bachelor s degree. Both in the marketing firm s report and a subsequent letter submitted by HBC (see attached), the number of new and replacement openings in career fields for graduates of the business administration program and the information technology program far exceed the number of graduates anticipated from Frostburg State University and HBC combined. The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) projects annual openings created through growth and replacements in Western Maryland requiring a bachelor s in business administration to be 1,915. Presently, FSU graduates 109 annually with this degree. DLLR projects annual openings created through growth and replacements in Western Maryland requiring a bachelor s in information technology to be 320. Presently, FSU graduates 32 annually with this degree. The Commission needs to keep in mind the general educational attainment in Western Maryland and the impact that these academic programs might have on that characteristic. The statewide percentage of the population 25 years and older having attained a bachelor s degree or higher is 31.4%. In Washington County, the proportion of the over-25 population holding a bachelor s degree or higher is 14.6%; and the rate of bachelor s degree attainment among adults in Hagerstown is 11.8%. The Education Policy Committee heard testimony in support of the HBC application from the Chairman of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, the Western Maryland Regional Director for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and the Director of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission. All spoke to the critical need for baccalaureate level managers and IT professionals to attract businesses to Hagerstown and Washington County. Students and alumni also made the trip to testify on behalf of HBC. The duplication of programs must also be seen in terms other than the supply of potential students and the number of job openings. The Education Policy Committee heard testimony from present HBC students and alumni that many of them could not meet the admissions requirements for Frostburg State University and had been rejected by that institution. They saw HBC as their last hope for a higher education. This was a reminder that, in considering program duplication, one must consider not only the total population of potential students but also the reality of varying admissions requirements. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Maryland Higher Education Commission approve the application of Hagerstown Business College to offer baccalaureate degrees in the specified programs contingent upon completion of a final site visit prior to the first class for the baccalaureate programs.

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