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College of Western Idaho instructor Linda Otto helps student Viet Nguyen in a basic network routing class Thursday afternoon at the Canyon County Center on Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard.
Mike Vogt/IPT
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Monday, July 6th, 2009

NAMPA — The College of Western Idaho can now be considered a comprehensive community college after Boise State's Selland College of Applied Technology transferred to the new school last week.

CWI now offers five different types of programs to appeal to an array of students across the Treasure Valley.

What happened?

The college received the Selland College programs and additional buildings at no cost; the State Board of Education simply transferred them to CWI. However, maintenance and running costs of the new facilities will now be the responsibility of the Nampa-based college.

Programs offered at CWI

New from the Selland College:

• Workforce Development/Training: Short-term programs to prepare for employment in certain fields including manufacturing, health care, public safety, construction and computers. This includes short-term certificate classes and fast-track career training programs.
• Adult Basic Education: Allows adults to learn basic academic or English language skills in preparation for a GED or English as a Second Language qualifications.
• Professional/Technical Education: Industry and market driven associate degrees (around two-year programs) or certificates (around one-year programs) that focus on high-demand jobs in the region ranging from dental assisting to horticulture technology to marketing management.

Existing programs:

• General Education: Classes that allow students to study toward a transferable two-year associate degree (associate of arts or associate of science). Most students taking these classes plan to transfer to a four-year institution as a junior. Some of these classes are also required for professional/technical degrees.
• Community Education: Non-credit courses for personal enrichment and professional development.

Class locations

Different classes will be offered at a variety of locations across Canyon and Ada counties.

• CWI Main Campus (Nampa, near the Idaho Center): General education and community education.
• Canyon County Center (2407 Nampa-Caldwell Blvd.): Nursing, information technology, networking, business technology, drafting, community education, adult basic education, general education.
• Ada County Site (Pintail Building at Overland and Maple Grove): information technology, business management, general education.
• Boise State University: All other professional/technical programs such as welding and auto repair.
• Frank Church High School (Boise): General education night classes aimed at working adults.
• Centennial High School (Meridian): General education night classes aimed at working adults.
• Oak Park Center (Vista Avenue, Boise): Center for workforce development, adult basic education.

Online courses are also offered with primarily general education classes and some professional/technical and workforce development classes. CWI plans to expand to include additional high school locations in Nampa and Boise in the future.

Q&A

What does this transfer mean for CWI?

The transfer of the Selland College to CWI allows the Nampa-based college to offer five different types of programs to make it a comprehensive community college. It will allow CWI to attract students with a variety of different goals whether it be personal enrichment through a fly-fishing class or gaining an associate degree in nursing.

Before the transfer, CWI was considered a junior college, offering only classes for lower division college transfer.

"It gives us a very broad array of students now that we couldn't have served before," Rick Aman, associate vice president for instruction, said. "We've got something for just about everybody in the Treasure Valley."

How do you think students will benefit from this move?

The main benefit to students involves the variety of classes offered. Whether students want to find a cheaper way to get general education classes completed before transferring to a four-year institution or study for a professional/technical degree, they can do it at CWI.

"(A student) could come in barely speaking English and end up with the ability to transfer as a junior into a university or go out and work with a professional technical degree," Aman said. "We really do serve those kinds of students that, a lot of times, a traditional university are not able to serve."

What challenges are ahead for CWI now?

Now CWI is able to offer so many types of courses, the main challenge for the future is finding locations to teach students. Many of the classroom spaces CWI has are full, so as the student body expands, it will need to secure additional locations.

"I think we're going to be limited by space," Aman said. "Because we're in the Treasure Valley, we're probably going to be a college that's distributed in multiple locations ... that's really one of the things that a community college should be. In a big area like this you really should be distributed throughout the community."

One issue for many community colleges can be finding qualified instructors. However, officials said this is not a problem for CWI because local universities are producing well-qualified teachers.

"Unlike most new community colleges that tend to pop up in rural areas ... we just have a wealth of highly qualified instructors here in the valley," Aman said.