Lamar Instutute Of Tecnology

Universities turn to outsourced instructors

But the teachers won't be on the university payroll.

They work for St. Petersburg-based Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism training group, which has agreed to supply the university with instructors for the class via the Internet.

"We are leveraging our e-learning platform to help journalism educators to have more time with their students," said Howard Finberg, interactive learning director for Poynter. "We can do some of the teaching for them."

Virtually unheard of a decade ago, instructional outsourcing is sprouting on university campuses around the country.

"Given the significant reduction in state support for public education, compounded by the fact institutions need to maintain quality programs, we are going to see additional innovative attempts at partnerships that will address both issues of being able to provide cost-efficient programs that are high quality," says Daniel Hurley, director of state relations and policy analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Proponents see the practice as another innovative way to cut costs, access bigger markets and add expertise to classrooms.

But opponents worry that outsourcing instruction will threaten faculty jobs, diminish interaction between students and professors, or even turn colleges into diploma mills.

The jury is out, says Alene Russell, a senior state policy consultant for the AASCU.

"We don't know where it goes," says Russell, who explored the issue in a July 2010 brief for the association. "Everyone is watching."

In her brief, Russell noted several models of instructional outsourcing in recent years.

• In 2007, Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, partnered with Higher Ed Holdings, a private company that provides technology and recruiting support for universities, to develop online graduate education programs.

The partnership with HEH, now Academic Partnerships, has been a success, as the programs have had consistent enrollments and high graduation rates, says Larry Acker, spokesman for Lamar.

"Financially, it's been very good for Lamar," Acker says.

Enrollment into two master's in education programs reached a peak of 4,100, higher than the university's total enrollment, says Anne Doris, chief operating officer for Academic Partnerships.

LIT requests $57M to fund campus upgrades - Beaumont Enterprise

Lamar Institute of Technology has requested $57 million from the Texas Legislature in order to fund renovations and new construction at the current 20-acre campus. The funds, which would be apart from the normal budget request, would allow for the renovation of five technology buildings and the construction of two additional buildings, LIT President Paul Szuch said by phone Monday.

"Right now we don't have adequate student service facilities for students," he said, adding that several labs for technical programs are also not up to par. "We've done great with what we've had, (but we're) trying to provide training facilities that can be adaptable and flexible."

Upgrading campus facilities has been a part of the college's master plan for the past ten years, said Szuch.

A primary request of $32 million would fund a student learning support center and renovations throughout campus.

An additional $25 million would fund a regional training facility that would serve law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel in nine area counties and four Louisiana parishes. LIT has also submitted a request to the federal government for funds to use in the construction of this facility, which could be financed by a combination of state and federal money, Szuch said.

Szuch met with state legislators and officials from the Texas State University System last Wednesday to show them the campus and share the college's needs with them. The legislature will meet in January and address college and university budgets among many other issues.

LIT is home to about 2,900 credit students and 860 non-credit students. With training programs in more than 50 disciplines, it serves as a key educator for many of the area's industrial workers.

"If they get the money, great for us, great for all of us because these are our sons, our daughters, our neighbors," said Mary Ann Reid , President of the Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce . Reid said it is important for Southeast Texans to think not just about providing labor for expansion projects today, but employees for tomorrow.

"We've got to go forward," she said.

Campus construction at LIT dates back to the late 1950s for some buildings and the 1970s for others, Szuch said. The most recent construction occurred in 2005 when a dorm at Lamar University was converted to the LIT Multi-Purpose Center .

The proposed student learning support center would house counseling and financial aid services along with a venue for workforce development and corporate training.

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