The College of Western Idaho (CWI) is continuing work on expanding its long-term, three campus concept – with facilities and services to support Ada County, Canyon County, and online.
Last year, CWI’s Nampa Campus Master Plan was updated to reflect how the College can better serve the community and prepare for future growth. The College also completed programming for two buildings that were identified as the greatest needs on the Nampa Campus; a Student Center and Health Science building. Additionally, with more than 50 percent of the student population coming from Ada County, CWI is looking to acquire a permanent campus location for students attending classes in Boise.
In March, the CWI Board of Trustees provided approval to enter into a purchase agreement for 32.5 acres on the north boundary of the Nampa Campus between the Academic Building and Cherry Lane. The parcel of land will become part of the College’s Nampa Campus Master Plan designed to support growth through 2040. The College will be completing due diligence over the next several months and anticipates closing on the land by the end of this fiscal year at which time the College will have more information on the immediate use and long-term plans for the land.
Additionally, CWI’s Board of Trustees recently approved moving forward with commissioning an external survey to evaluate voter support for a possible bond to further develop CWI’s Ada County Campus and Nampa Campus expansion.
“When considering the future of Ada and Canyon Counties, it is clear that accessible higher education will be critical,” states CWI Board Chair Mary Niland. “We want to make sure we are acting in the best interest of our community and that we’re most efficient with the taxpayers’ money while at the same time meeting the needs of our growing community.”
The proposed campus expansion stems from growth in enrollment since opening its doors in 2009. Between 2009 and 2014 CWI added over 9,000 students making it the largest serving community college in Idaho. As a short-term solution for addressing this growth, the College has leased multiple buildings to facilitate classroom space in Boise and Nampa until a longer term solution could be identified. This fall CWI’s enrollment hit 10,217 credit students, with an additional 10,480 non-credit program students enrolled across the College’s campuses in Nampa and Boise, community locations, and online.