UB Regional Institute Partnership with Higher Education Consortium Develops Reports and Web Site to Tap Sector's Economic Potential

In partnership with the Western New York Consortium of Higher Education, the UB Regional Institute has completed the first phase of a major initiative to assess the role of higher education in advancing the region’s knowledge economy. Based on the premise that the industry is a major but underutilized economic driver, the Better by Degrees initiative has involved the collaboration of 22 major colleges and universities in the region. Providing critical research support, the institute evaluated several aspects of the industry, including its capacity to meet regional workforce needs, the industry’s overall economic impact, the nature of higher education collaboration in the region, and peer-region strategies to leverage higher education for economic growth. These reports are available online via the Better by Degrees link.

Now branded as CampusBuffalo, the consortium effort aims to attract students to the region, engage students as part of the community, and retain them after graduation to strengthen the region's workforce. Toward this end, the institute developed www.CampusBuffalo.Org, a central resource for students featuring detailed college profiles and a dynamic tool to search for degree programs and colleges in the region. With a second round of support from The John R. Oishei Foundation, the consortium will expand its CampusBuffalo program between 2009 and 2012. The consortium will hire an Executive Director for the program to design and implement strategies developed over the past year to advance its attract-engage-retain mission, including collaborative initiatives across the consortium's 22 member institutions and partnerships between the higher education sector and relevant community stakeholders. The institute will remain engaged to manage the CampusBuffalo Web site and provide research support.