The Iowa Board of Regents will decide on whether to close the Tippie College of Business Cedar Rapids (TCOB) at its Feb. 28 meeting, by request from University of Iowa.
TCOB, located at 221 2nd Ave SE, offers a Master of Science in Business
Analytics (MSBA) and Professional Master of Business Administration (MBA). University officials say the increase in students opting for online courses have made the building space obsolete, citing cost savings as the primary reason for discontinuing the lease with the city of Cedar Rapids. The amount of estimated savings was not disclosed.
“Offering both in-person and online (classes) has become an inefficient use of resources,” the request proposal stated.
The professional MBA spans 45 semester hours, offering students a groundwork for advancing in professional management with flexibility. The MSBA covers 30 semester hours, preparing students to meet the rising demand of handling and analyzing the expanding data crucial for business decisions.
The online courses offer more flexibility for the students, many of whom are working professionals with rigid schedules. The MSBA and MBA courses will be unaffected, and there is no foreseeable impact on the Iowa workforce, the proposal stated.
At next week’s meeting, the Board of Regents will also discuss shuttering Scott Community College and Birchwood Learning Center as well.
The University cited almost identical concerns with Birchwood Learning Center, located at 4620 E 53rd St. in Davenport, but slightly different reasons for closing Scott Community College, located at 500 Belmont Rd. outside of Bettendorf.
Scott Community College was opened as part of the University of Iowa’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program almost 50 years ago. At the time, UI was the only college in Iowa offering an MSW program. Enrollment declined with the shuttering of Marycrest University’s Social Work BA program, which typically fed into UI’s MSW program, and the launch of St. Ambrose’s MSW program, “resulting in greater competition for students and practicum locations,” according to the proposal.
At the Feb. 28 meeting, the Board of Regents will also elect a new board president, replacing previous board president Michael Richards.
