ASU and the city of Payson have taken the next step toward establishing a small college campus up north.
The two announced Tuesday that they reached an agreement to commit resources to determine if a campus in Payson is viable.
Payson has already received commitments for $550 million toward a potential campus, said Kenny Evans, mayor of Payson. The city will take on the expense of building the facilities.
This amount is expected to cover the entire cost of the college, Evans said.
Of the funds to build the campus, $100 million would come from private donors and the city of Payson would be obligated to repay the remaining $450 million to loaners, Evans said.
The goal is for a forest cottage setting with an emphasis on cutting-edge green technology, he said.
The campus would aim to serve up to 6,000 students.
“The goal is to produce a world-class educational experience at a price geared to the Pell Grant level,” Evans said.
The Pell Grant is a federal program that provides up to $6,000 of assistance per year to low-income undergraduate students.
The low tuition is meant to appeal to all potential students across the nation, not just those with Pell Grant assistance, Evans said.
No timetable has been set, but construction is expected to take two years if the project goes through.
ASU is pursuing the campus to accomplish a goal that the Arizona Board of Regents set in 2009 to double the number of bachelor’s degrees being offered in the state by 2020, said Bob McLendon, chairman of the capital committee for the board.
“This memorandum of understanding is just a beginning of something that could change the face of education in Arizona,” McLendon said. “It is an ongoing procedure.”
The outreach is part of ASU’s Colleges@ASU program, which was thought up to help carry out the board’s plan, said Richard Stanley, ASU’s senior vice president and University planner.
“ASU wants to put in front of potential students as many styles and locations of colleges as possible,” Stanley said.
The colleges created through the program would have campuses with dorms, businesses and other facilities, though they would not have extensive research facilities.
One reason the college has been proposed is that Arizona does not have many schools between the levels of community colleges and large universities. This lack of schools with mid-range tuition can lead to many students compromising in their choice of education, Stanley said.
“We want to give the opportunity and choice to students that wouldn’t otherwise have it,” he said.
The proposed campus will focus on providing a rural college experience while remaining a short drive away from Phoenix, Evans said.
Payson is in the process of obtaining 300 acres of land from the U.S. Forest Service. The land would be located off highway 260 across from Gila Community College, Evans said.
“A major portion of our pledges are tied to this campus being green,” Evans said. He added that the college would generate more energy than it expends by using a solar array field.
It would also incorporate 18 other green components, Evans said. One component would be the use of solely electric vehicles on campus. All fossil-fueled vehicles would be required to park in the self-sustaining parking garages outside the campus and the students and faculty would be shuttled in.
The educational delivery system would be predominantly digital, said Evans, with all lectures being recorded as well as broadcast as they occur over the Internet.
“It will be a new-age, millennial campus,” Evans said.
At this time, extensive research still has to be done by ASU to determine the viability of a campus in Payson, Stanley said.
“We’re making a commitment towards pursuing a college in the area,” he said. “This is a step in the right direction.”
Reach the reporter at alex.ferri@asu.edu
