O4 Collaborative or Partnership Arrangements

Key stakeholders for Western include students, employees, the Board of Governors, CBHE, the Department of Higher Education (DHE), accrediting bodies, advisory councils, employers, community members, and alumni and friends (Figures 3.2, 3.3). These stakeholders are essential to support the vision, mission, and values described in Figure O.2. Category Six describes relationships with these groups. Western partners with regional, national, and international organizations to develop the workforce and to provide service opportunities and programs that enhance the lives of people of the community, region, and State.

• The 2+2+2 partnership between Metropolitan Community Colleges (MCC), Western, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) offers students with an associate degree from Metropolitan the opportunity to finish a bachelor’s degree at Western, and then, a master’s degree at UMKC.
• Heartland Health, a regional medical center, and Western have partnered on several projects in response to healthcare shortages. This partnership has resulted in the creation or expansion of the Physical Therapist Assistant, Health Information Technology and LPN-BSN Bridge programs and in the increase in the number of students in the BSN program.
• Collaborative relationships with area councils and businesses, such as the Regional Workforce Development Team for Healthcare, Equal Opportunity Corporation, and the Missouri Small Business Development Corporation, have resulted in new programs designed to develop the area workforce.
• Western provides facilities, personnel, and other support services for the Institute for Industrial and Applied Life Sciences (a cooperative agreement that includes the city, county, Heartland Health, and local industry). Western also hosts the Regional Law Enforcement Academy, the Regional Community Policing Institute (a cooperative agreement with the Department of Justice), the Department of Corrections, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the
  University of Missouri Extension. Western maintains a close relationship with the K-12 schools in the area.