I was going to reply to the other thread but figured this was a better place to keep this discussion. I found an O'Colly (OSU student newspaper) article from October 2016 about how to reverse declining enrollment at OSU-Tulsa with some interesting quotes:
“OSU-Tulsa has been struggling for some time with its enrollment,” according to the faculty council meeting minutes. “Politically, it is not possible just to close it. There is a role it can play, but we are currently sorting this out.”
Enrollment at OSU-Tulsa, which opened in 1999, has steadily declined since 2012, according to OSU data. OSU-Tulsa President Howard Barnett told the O’Colly the campus saw an increase in enrollment after the Great Recession but has struggled since those students graduated.
As a part of the legislation passed in the late 1990s, OSU-Tulsa inherited the campus formerly known as the University Center at Tulsa, which offered upper-division and graduate courses from OSU, the University of Oklahoma, Northeastern State University and Langston University.
As part of a political and legal agreement, OSU-Tulsa can’t offer any freshman and sophomore courses and is prohibited from offering the same majors as Langston-Tulsa.
“Accounting hurts; psychology hurts; those are our two most inquired about programs that we don’t have, but it’s the law,” Barnett said.
Sandefur told the O’Colly closing the Tulsa campus is something that has been talked about but not seriously considered.
When OSU-Tulsa opened in 1999, former OSU President Jim Halligan’s vision was to have 20,000 students enrolled at the campus by 2020.
With its current enrollment at 2,400 students, it’s unlikely the campus will meet the proposed goal.
“That was my vision at the time, and indeed the probability it will be realized by 2020 is indeed remote,” said Sen. Halligan, R-Stillwater.
Halligan said he supported the creation of OSU-Tulsa because he believed OSU needed a “vibrant” presence in Tulsa for the city to succeed.
“In order for Oklahoma to succeed, both Tulsa and Oklahoma City must succeed — they are the economic engines of the state,” Halligan said.
He said he believes making OSU-Tulsa larger is one of the keys to Tulsa’s growth and prosperity. In the future, he would like to see more of a focus on biomedical engineering and majors tailored to healthcare, he said.
“That, to me, is a real opportunity for the future,” Halligan said.
Likewise, Barnett envisions OSU-Tulsa growing and accommodating younger students.
“I see (OSU-Tulsa) growing," Barnett said. “And I see our student body, if we do this right, maybe getting a little bit younger.”
Some of my thoughts:
1. If OSU doesn't want (or need) to have 20,000 students then they absolutely do not need the land west of MLK and north of 244, and it should be redeveloped into mixed-use/housing. This is vacant land just sitting next to one of the most vibrant urban districts in the region, and there is now demand to develop it.
2. The law that hamstrings OU and OSU because of Langston needs to be changed. There is no reason for that school to hold the city hostage like it is currently doing. I'd like to see city leaders and Tulsa's elected state reps take on this issue.
3. OSU should recreate the master plan that they did back in the late 90's but with a more realistic goal of maybe 5,000 students (which is more than TU) and filling in the gaps around the existing campus north of 244 and east of MLK.
4. I agree with Jim Halligan that biomedical engineering and healthcare are key programs for the future. These programs would make more sense though to be part of the OSU Health Sciences Center which already has its own campus by the river, along with the OSU hospital downtown. I'd like to see OSU continue to build up its medical school and health sciences programs, and let the Greenwood campus focus on programs like engineering, education, business and technology.
5. I'd like to see OSU do more research activity in Tulsa. Maybe a second ATRC on the other side of Elgin? Maybe a research building on the other side of 244 (old warehouses by the Gypsy coffeehouse). I used to say the Evans Fintube would be perfect for this but I guess it's going to be a BMX facility.
http://www.ocolly.com/news/osu-taking-measures-to-improve-tulsa-campus/article_fb35928a-93ea-11e6-be1b-776729da446f.html