USG featured in The Washington Post

Nine universities on one small campus? It’s real. It’s here. And it could be higher ed’s future.

By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Education Reporter at The Washington Post

In May, Washington Post Education Reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel spent a few hours on our campus, speaking with students about their experiences and getting a tour of our facilities. She compiled an in-depth look at USG’s model and the success it offers so many in our state. Take a read below.

The Universities at Shady Grove campus on May 11, 2016, in Rockville, Md. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

It would be easy to mistake the Universities at Shady Grove as a flagship public school, with its red-brick buildings and its state-of-the-art labs, library and fitness center.But Shady Grove is a program unlike any other, with nine state universities converging at the Rockville, Md., campus, part of an effort that began 16 years ago to reduce college costs, produce an educated workforce and encourage college completion among populations that traditionally struggle to get their degrees.

Public universities and colleges are grappling with how to serve a growing population of students with limited resources in the face of paltry state investment in higher education. Cooperative programs, such as the one at Shady Grove, draw on the strengths of regional colleges and respond to demands for workforce development.“It’s a very innovative model,” said Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations and policy analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “You have a public institution responding to market conditions in a way that expands access.”Shady Grove offers a way for community college students to transfer into undergraduate programs at nine of the 12 schools in the University System of Maryland, including the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Bowie State, Towson and the state flagship in College Park.

All classes are held in Rockville and taught by professors from the partner schools, so a student seeking a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland Baltimore County can earn the degree without ever setting foot in Catonsville.

That kind of convenience was appealing to Nyenpu Faith Kamei, 21, a Germantown resident getting a degree in social work and psychology from UMBC. Staying close to home was important for Kamei because of the money she could save by living with her parents.

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