CLEVELAND - Five public universities in northeast Ohio should work more closely with each other to pool resources and produce more college graduates, a report recommends.
Cleveland State University should lead the way to developing a regional department for computer science majors, and the University of Akron should use its research foundation as a vehicle for spurring technology innovations that have commercial applications, it said.
The report was issued Friday by a 19-member commission studying higher education in northeast Ohio as state Chancellor Eric Fingerhut is developing his own 10-year plan for higher education in Ohio.
He said the report by the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission is a good first step. He wants Ohio's 13 public universities and 24 community colleges to collaborate more and focus on common goals, instead of constantly competing.
The report, however, does not say how new projects among the five schools - Cleveland State, Akron, Kent State, Youngstown State, and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine - would be funded.
It also does not address the possible merger of Cleveland State and Akron, something Mr. Fingerhut favors. He expects to release his plan for Ohio's public universities in March.Other recommendations in the commission's report include centralizing printing services among the five universities and combining health-insurance coverage for employees.
The report also recommended greater collaboration among fine and performing arts programs, with student and faculty productions traveling from one school to another.
"That way, the public would get the benefit of arts from the whole region instead of just one campus, and students would get to see the work of other students," Cleveland State President Michael Schwartz said.
Students also should be able to take courses at one of the other schools without having to worry about how the credits will transfer, the report said.
All five university presidents sat on the panel and back the recommendations, commission Chairman Ted Boyd said.
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