As Casey Crabill begins her new job as Onondaga Community College president this week, one of the first things she will consider is whether to establish a satellite campus in Syracuse's Inner Harbor.
Crabill says she'll discuss the idea with the board of directors noting that there are pros and cons to off-site campuses. A campus is included in drawings of the Inner Harbor project, but developers and OCC wanted to wait until Crabill came aboard before making a decision.
"You want to do the best you can to bring education right to the people, so mitigating any barriers you might have getting to campus. On the other hand, many students when they are looking at colleges are looking at the whole collegiate experience, and it's hard to replicate the whole thing at an off-site center," said Crabill.
Crabill, who becomes OCC's eight president, added that you have to find a balance between comprehensiveness and convenience. She says the West Hill campus has been beautifully developed, making it hard to replicate that experience somewhere else. The decision about the off-campus site is expected to be made in the coming months
