The agreement will almost double the number of students able to study at the Mid-Michigan Region Campus from an average of 18 students per year to about 30 students. Students also will be able to train in a wider variety of specializations.

“(The third- and fourth-years in medical school) are probably the most important,” said Paula Klose, the new acting community assistant dean of the Midland Regional Campus. “That’s where they choose what they want to do.”

Officials said the expansion is a necessity because enrollment in the College of Human Medicine is increasing. In fall 2007, the size of the incoming class was about 100 students. This fall, about 200 students will be in the college’s incoming class.

New education sites for third- and fourth-year graduate students within the campus will include MidMichigan Medical Centers in Midland, Clare and Gladwin and the Gratiot Medical Center in Alma. The program in Mid-Michigan already has students at Covenant HealthCare and St. Mary’s of Michigan hospitals in Saginaw.

The Mid-Michigan campus is one of six other community campuses located across Michigan.

Aron Sousa, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Human Medicine, said students working within Michigan communities not only to lean about how to provide care for a community, but to also encourage physicians to stay in Michigan.

“A part of the mission of the College of Human Medicine is to educate physicians to practice in the state of Michigan and the best way to do that is to have them do their clinical training where they will eventually work,” Sousa said.

The mid-Michigan region had several areas experiencing a shortage of doctors, Klose said.

“We train a lot of physicians and many of them go elsewhere,” she said.

The College of Human Medicine and MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland have worked together for more than 35 years with the Family Medicine Residency Program.

“MidMichigan Health has had a long and successful relationship with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine through our family medicine residency program,” said Richard M. Reynolds, president of MidMichigan Health, in an e-mail. “Since that affiliation in 1979, we have graduated 173 residents, many of whom practice in Midland or nearby communities and make up the backbone of our excellent primary care network. As we look to the future, we want to build on this record of success.”

Klose said she was looking forward to the campus’ opening.

“It’s a very exciting thing to be involved with,” she said. “MSU accepts very good quality students, and we’re very happy to be involved.”