The Byline

By Ray Boyd

Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University are partners in the Higher Education Center that is currently under construction in downtown Medford on 8 th St. and Bartlett. Production began in the spring of 2007 and the center is scheduled to open fall of 2008. In May of 2007, Jackson County Voters passed Measure 15-75. This measured helped fund the remodel of RCCʼs Table Rock Campus and the construction of the Higher Education Center. The Higher Education Center will provide additional classroom space, enhance the cultural development in the Medford area and help introduce Medford-based students to a post-secondary education, according to Riverside Campus Dean, Galyn Carlile. Upon completion of the Higher Education Center, RCC will close Buildings D, E and F, and those classes will be moved into the new center. SOU and RCC each contributed 11.1 million dollars. SOU classes will primarily be in the evening while RCC classes will be morning/mid-day, and both colleges may offer weekend classes. Some of SOU/RCCʼs new courses will include a business center, seminars, leadership training and basic support of local businesses. The building itself is 68,700 square-feet and construction continues daily. The center is designed to break the barrier between two- and four-year schools, making transitions easier, and school administrators forsee that this will increase enrollment. Carlile says the relationship between SOU and RCC was built on a good foundation, and that the building is progressing “extremely well”.