NMSU representatives who have been involved with planning the new center in Albuquerque include (l-r) Jeffrey Brandon, dean of the College of Health and Social Services; Theresa Acker of Admissions; Provost William Flores; and Carmen Gonzales, vice provost for distance education. An open house at the new center is scheduled for Jan. 29 from 3-5 p.m.

The 10,000-square-foot center, located in the Compass Bank Building at 2444 Louisiana NE, across from the Coronado Mall, will house high-tech distance education classrooms for students in the greater metropolitan area. It also will serve as a multipurpose center for NMSU, where admissions, an alumni office and other university programs such as WERC will be located, and where NMSU personnel from around the state can convene.

“We’re a statewide university and we’re trying to provide greater service to the people of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County,” says President Mike Martin.

NMSU constituents have repeatedly requested a formal university presence in Albuquerque, says Provost William Flores. “It’s the largest metropolitan area in New Mexico, with 50 percent of the state’s residents in a 70-mile radius,” Flores says. “If NMSU is not there, it means we’re ignoring half the population.”

Indeed, having Albuquerque-based classrooms and meeting space is essential for NMSU given the rapid growth in distance education programs, says Carmen Gonzales, vice provost for distance education. Enrollment in distance educations programs across the state grew nearly 300 percent in just two years, from 373 in fall 2002 to 1,428 in fall 2004, Gonzales says.

The university offers 23 degree, certificate and licensure programs via distance education, including master’s degrees in criminal justice, industrial engineering and social work at locations in Albuquerque and elsewhere, and through online courses and video conferencing.

“Even with the technology-based courses, students and professors need to meet face-to-face once or twice per semester, and that means students have to drive from extreme locations like Farmington all the way to Las Cruces, or vice versa,” Gonzales says. “The Albuquerque center will now offer a mid-point for meetings and classes that will ease the burden on students and professors.”

The College of Health and Social Services will teach its master of social work program directly at the Albuquerque center. The college launched MSW distance education classes in Albuquerque in spring 2002, using meeting space loaned by the University of New Mexico. Enrollment in this program has grown from 15 students in 2002 to 60 now, with another 15 students expected to join in January 2005, says Dean Jeffrey Brandon.

Next spring, NMSU’s Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management program will begin offering its first distance education degrees through the Albuquerque center, says Janet Green, interim HRTM director. NMSU offers the only bachelor’s degree in hospitality in New Mexico and West Texas.

“We want to make it more available to students in northern New Mexico, where much of the hospitality industry is concentrated,” Green says. “Through distance education, people who already work in the industry, and students with associate degrees in the culinary arts, can earn a bachelor’s degree without having to travel to Las Cruces.”

The programs offered through the Albuquerque center will help fulfill educational needs that would otherwise go unmet, says President Martin.

“These degree programs are not available at other institutions, like UNM,” Martin says. “We don’t want to encroach on anybody’s territory. We’re simply adding more higher education choices for the state’s biggest urban population.”