Serving primarily adult students is a much different task than that taken on by most colleges and universities. Bellevue University has met the needs of adult learners for more than four decades thanks to accommodating class schedules and career-related degree programs.
“The target student for Bellevue University is the working individual, maybe entry or supervisory level, who is keen on advancing their career,” said Dr. Mary Hawkins, president. “Probably 85% of our students are working at least part time, and the majority are full time. Our students recognize that their careers will not progress as they want without further education.”
Founded as Bellevue College in 1966 and renamed Bellevue University in 1994, the university has grown into a worldwide leader in the niche of adult education. It serves around 10,000 students per year with 12 locations in five states, and it also operates an award-winning online learning platform.
Purpose built
The main campus is in Bellevue, Neb., and the university has put a lot of effort and resources toward enhancing the physical environment over the years. The last decade in particular has seen many projects come to fruition.
In 2006, it completed the 72,000-square-foot Educational Services Building, which includes classrooms, conference rooms, student advising, financial aid, the business office, enrollment management, and the colleges of professional studies, information technology, and the center for learning innovation. That was after the 2004-2005 remodel of the Margre H. Durham Student Center and a 2004 high-tech upgrade to the Criss Auditorium in the Hitchcock Humanities Center. Prior to that, the university renovated the Freeman Library and the Emma Lozier Addition in 2002.
Bellevue University is now focused on completing construction of an administrative office building. Slated to open this summer, the project has been ongoing since 2009. The new building will include a training center, a student welcome center, state-of-the-art technology, and an open design office concept to encourage collaboration and communication across administrative and department lines. The 130,000-square-foot building costs approximately $22 million and will connect to Educational Services Building.
“Our expansion isn’t focused on building new campus classrooms. It is on ensuring that our brick and mortar facilities can assist the personnel we need to maintain small classes, personalized services, and support for learning,” said Hawkins.
Making learning relevant
The university is constantly looking to add to its programming and accessibility. The university has a record of innovation, having been the first adult-focused university to go online to meet the needs of adult students and launching the first online MBA program. In the last few years, programs added include project management, international security and intelligence studies, early childhood program management, a Master of Science management program, and additional online options and web tools to help students plan their academic future.
“Our programs tend to target real career opportunities, heavily oriented toward business and administration, the application of technology in business, and emerging and strong career fields,” said Hawkins. “It is not the kind of educational programming you’d find at a residential liberal arts college. We emphasize the application of learning and encourage students to use their workplace opportunities as a lab and bring those experiences into the classroom.”
The most unique recent addition to its programming is the nation’s first PhD program in Human Capital Management, which started in the fall of 2008. All courses can be taken online through the university’s Cyber-Active learning platform. Advanced courses are offered in economics, finance, research and statistics, and management.
The program has a unique focus on the corporate effort to effectively measure the return on investment of employee training and education. Research done by students contribute to the work of the university’s Human Capital Lab, which unites business and academic leaders in the effort to measure the effect of learning investments.
Because so much of its programming can be accessed online, the university invested in professional expertise in instructional design, writing, media, and videography. This provides a strong professional resource for faculty to use when designing curriculum. Hawkins pointed out that faculty members are subject experts but not always expert in creating online simulations or using technical resources and assets to improve learning.
“Investing in strong support for faculty in curriculum design was a critical decision for us,” she said. “We’ve also made our library an amazing resource for students and tried to make the end-to-end student experience on the administrative side as smooth, error-free, and automated as possible. These investments allow students to keep their focus on learning.”
Managing growth
As the university expanded its physical and virtual footprint, it looked for different ways to control the transition from a small institution into a larger one. Policies and personnel have needed to adapt to the new reality, and new leadership has been brought in to help smooth the process.
“Growth has been extremely fast, and we’ve needed to ramp up our effort to communicate strategy so everyone here understands their role,” Hawkins said, noting that the university is upgrading its IT system with a new PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to the tune of around $12 million. “We must consciously work on preserving our culture, building the infrastructure and communication network, leveraging technology, and adapting where needed so we don’t lose the personal interaction we had as a smaller institution.”
Although the major growth is a challenge, it isn’t changing the central philosophy of the university. It has always been committed to innovation and student success, to supporting its learners and being as flexible as possible. By staying connected with graduates and maintaining transparent communications about its strategic direction, Bellevue University will never forget where it came from or where it is going.
“The world is changing rapidly, and we must be ready to offer content that can help students and alumni immediately without being constructed in a three-credit, semester-long class. The educational model will continue to evolve into a model that individuals can use over their lifetime,” said Hawkins. “We must take advantage of the lessons we’ve learned to come up with ways to deliver learning in the future, support students, and maintain a relationship with them so they can stay tied into new learning opportunities.”
