Small satellite campus is unworthy of funding

Collegiate hybrid IU-Purdue University Indianapolis recently announced they would be opening a satellite campus in Greenwood, Ind. The facility would contain only five classrooms, one lecture hall, and (one would assume) other amenities like restrooms and a water fountain with delicious, cool Greenwood water.

Campus officials cite advantages like making it easier for Greenwood residents to take prerequisites, but the expenditure seems like a waste of resources.

The facility would obviously be costly, and Greenwood is less than 20 miles away from the main campus in Indianapolis.

The spending seems hypocritical what with the IU budget cuts – roughly $55 million – that will be penalizing faculty by removing salary increases and performance bonuses.
Keeping high-quality faculty is more important than the few extra minutes saved by 375 students, the number of beneficiaries of the new campus as predicted by IUPUI.

Five classrooms do not comprise a learning institution, merely wasteful spending.
If getting to the downtown Indy campus is the problem, perhaps IUPUI should consider other options besides an expensive satellite, such as a bus service or more online courses. A high-quality teleconferencing setup – while still unnecessary – would be cheaper and make more sense.

The cost of the facility was unreported, so maybe the planners know something we don’t. But even if the building were free, can a few classes isolated from the rest of campus really benefit students? It would be easy for that structure to become a place for students to pay for a few prerequisites, but without a strong tie to IUPUI they could easily drop out or leave for other schools.

Not to sound like the father from “Calvin and Hobbes,” but maybe driving a few extra miles to school will build character.

If classrooms are needed, add them to the main campus in Indianapolis so everyone can use them.

Perhaps they can be placed on the southeast side of campus so Greenwood commuters can save an extra two minutes.