Providing Day Care for a Metropolitan Campus: A University/Public Sector Collaboration

Abstract

The priorities for providing student services on a metropolitan campus differ somewhat from those on the traditional campus. One of the high-priority needs is availability of day care for students, faculty, and staff. The sequence of planning for a day care center at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, is described from initial needs assessment through consideration of various funding and operations options, the operations contract, and quality control mechanisms. The center at WSU implements a cooperative arrangement in which the center is owned by the university but operated by the private sector. The success of the center is assessed over the first four years of operation and demonstrates a viable, cost-clearing alternative to the traditional, statesubsidized laboratory school model.