River Cities Business Journal: Education

Havasu university hits setback; Survey says area not yet ready for four-year school

Today's News-Herald

LAKE HAVASU CITY - Due to a lack of funding, the construction of a full-fledged Northern Arizona University campus on Lake Havasu is unlikely any time in the near future. But according to NAU president Dr. John Haeger, who met with city leaders and boosters of the project in April, hope still exists for the project.

“The idea is a good one, but it's going to take a very long time to build up a substantial student presence,” Haeger said. “It's not practical now to say we're going to build a campus all at once. It just isn't going to happen.”

A recent study of the university project concluded that the high cost of capital construction, and competition from existing schools in California and Arizona, would present major challenges for a Havasu campus. That study has drawn criticism from some locally, who questioned both its cost estimates for the campus, and its conclusions about the desirability of the Havasu campus to students in the region. The study surveyed hundreds of prospective students and parents, and concluded that demand was relatively weak in comparison to existing campuses.

Yet Haeger said his views on the challenges facing the Havasu campus went well beyond the conclusions of the recent survey. He pointed to two other educational studies that showed lagging demand for higher education in the state.

“When you put the three studies together, in my mind, it makes a pretty compelling case that before we could really imagine Northern Arizona University having 1,000 students in Lake Havasu City, we've got to do a much better job of graduating students from high school, and getting them to transfer from the community colleges,” Haeger said.

High school graduation rates are 61 percent in Mohave County, 74 percent in Lake Havasu City, and 63 percent in Kingman.

Arizona ranks near the bottom of states in funding for K-12 education, and according to Haeger, only about eight out of 100 8th graders in the state will ever attain a four-year baccalaureate degree.

“The problem is not that we lack universities,” Haeger said. “The problem is, we don't have enough students in the pipeline.”

Some boosters of the Havasu campus have pointed out that the city's proximity to the large population centers in southern California and Maricopa County could attract thousands of students. While that was likely true, such a scenario would depend on the construction of an elaborate campus, complete with residential dorms. The university study projected the costs of such a project at about $250 million.

“When you talk about recruiting students from California, now you needs lots of the campus infrastructure,” Haeger said. “That's where the costs then skyrocket.”

Rather than building a full-fledged university from scratch, Haeger suggested the project be done piecemeal. He said the 320-acre waterfront property identified by the city was an excellent location, and that if the city constructed a small university building, then NAU would likely be interested in a long-term lease of the facility.

“I think it's an excellent location,” he said. “We'd be excited to partner with the community in doing this.”