CHAPEL HILL – When Jim Phillips took over as UNC Board of Governors chairman this summer, one of his top priorities was to conduct a study detailing what North Carolina citizens want from their university system. On Thursday some of the initial planning for the study began to take shape.
Board members spent the afternoon discussing the structure of the study, designed to answer the question “What do the people of North Carolina need from their university, for the state to be successful in the 21st century?” Eva Klein and Associates, a consulting firm based in Great Falls, Virginia, along with Gottlieb and Associates of Washington, D.C., presented it during the work session, which was held in conjunction the October Board of Governors meeting.
According to Klein, the study – which would presumably be conducted by Klein and Gottlieb – would set education goals for the state, establish strategies to reach those goals, suggest changes that are needed to reach those goals, and what the implications may be for the UNC system. It would look at concepts such as what students need to know in a “knowledge-based” economy and how to better educate students, ensure delivery of education, and reach more students. It would not, however, look at different disciplines within the university system. Klein said that should be left to the faculty.
Numerical targets would be set. Some of those targets would be for the number of students in college or who have a college degree, according to Anita Gottlieb, president of Gottlieb and Associates. She said the financial impact on the state and the system of these additional college graduates would also be studied.
Much of the structure was designed after Klein and others met with 200 individuals across the state, including board members and business leaders. It could be spring 2008 before a final report is delivered to board members, Klein said. No cost was announced for the study, but Klein said, “It wouldn’t be cheap.”
“The more we got into it, the more complex it became,” Klein said.
Phillips said the study would be used to “create a driver for (the university) the next 10 to 15 years.” It would essentially set the agenda for the university system. Phillips said it would also meet another goal, set by Erskine Bowles, to move from a supply-oriented organization to a demand-oriented one—one responding to the demands of the state’s citizens, according to Phillips.
“We get our priorities set for us, instead of doing it in an as-needed-as-they-come-up basis,” Phillips said.
The study would also focus on how students learn, the role of research in the system, engagement or service, and the talent of the faculty and staff.
Klein said one of the problems she heard in interviews was that the university system is slow to respond to requests by the schools for new or different programs, especially in comparison to the community college system. As for research, she said that the people she talked to want research within the university system to address current issues.
Gottlieb added that the study would look at implementing changes throughout the state. One suggestion Gottlieb discussed would be a UNC classification system to identify institutions that would be in addition to the Carnegie ranking system. The Carnegie classification system groups schools on the basis of their specialization and the level of the degrees they offer.
“There are going to have to be some mission changes,” Gottlieb said.
Phillips said board members would spend the next month reviewing the preliminary report and the proposed study before making any final determination on how to proceed with the study.
“It’s almost a zero-based budgeting, long-range plan,” Phillips said.