As Martinsville looks to revitalize uptown, the future of The New College Institute is a key factor, according to the Martinsville Bulletin. In the 2012-13 school year, the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia will decide whether to let NCI evolve into a branch campus of a university or — what local leaders are hoping for — a university itself.

That decision will have a huge impact on the area because it could result in developing more space for classes and student housing, as well as more employment opportunities.

"The New College Institute (NCI) is an important part of efforts to revitalize uptown, according to city officials and community leaders.

As NCI has added degree programs and its student population has grown, it has expanded into three buildings uptown. People have noticed that growth, and it has helped them see that progress is occurring, according to Jeffrey Mansour, senior program officer for The Harvest Foundation.

He called NCI 'a catalyst' for revitalizing uptown.

Due to NCI’s presence, the district has 'a new identity,' said Lee Probst, executive director of the Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association.

As a result, how the institute evolves will greatly influence how uptown evolves, said Wayne Knox, the city’s director of community development.

NCI’s administration is in the Pythian Building on Jones Street. Classrooms and offices are in a former furniture store building on Franklin Street and on upper floors of Jefferson Plaza on East Church Street. Both buildings were renovated to accommodate the institute.

Because it occupies three buildings on different streets, NCI is 'integrated uptown' and has made itself part of the district’s identity, Mansour said.

That, he said, is unlike many institutions of higher education that are 'off secluded someplace away from the urban center' of their localities and, in turn, seem like separate communities.
NCI educated 347 students during the past academic year and expects to have at least 400 students in 2009-10, officials have said. Most students attend classes late in the day and at night, after most people who work uptown have gone home.

Executive Director Barry Dorsey said NCI has become 'an economic engine' for the central business district. For instance, he said the owner of a nearby coffee shop has told him that the restaurant often is full of students around NCI class times.

The institute provides local access to courses needed to complete certain bachelor’s and master’s degrees offered by universities statewide."

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