The Higher Education Battle Brewing in Rio Rancho

In todays Alb. Journal, an article details how the state wants UNM to take the lead in offering programs at their proposed Rio Rancho campus, with the possibility of NMSU offering degree programs as well.

This is all well and good. It makes a lot of sense to offer a diverse curriculum to the third largest city in the state (and growing), but there are a couple questions that comes to mind: How would this vision play out in the actual design of the campus? Will this new possible cooperation cause it to be delayed in order to figure out the logistics of having two competing state schools working together on the same campus?

It is all a rather willy-nilly system that is employed by the Universities.

Some state leaders contend that lax oversight by the state has led to a proliferation of campuses, including 25 universities, colleges and branches in addition to other off-campus centers.

This may seem like the colleges are just sticking branches everywhere that has 20 people, but you also need to keep in mind that New Mexico outside of the Rio Grande Valley, is pretty rural. Putting a small branch makes good sense for those who cannot make it to Albuquerque or Las Cruces for classes.

Which gets me back to my point. While it would be great to have a full service campus in Rio Rancho, lets make sure that we get this right the first time, but also don't let it interfere with its opening date.

UNM Rio Rancho NMSU