Big Education Conference Misses the Boat
Every year since 1986, the Institute for Emerging Issues has held a highly publicized conference devoted to some current policy issue. For 2007, the theme was “Transforming Higher Education: A Competitive Advantage for North Carolina.” Sadly, there was very little said about actually transforming higher education in the state over the two days of the event – that is, how it might be made a better and more valuable experience for students. Instead, the speakers were mostly fixated on the supposed need for North Carolina (and the United States as a whole) to put more students into and through college.
In other words, it was about quantity rather than quality. What needs to change, according to most of the speakers, is the number of young Americans entering and graduating from college, not the educational worth of the courses they take. This made for a rather monochromatic conference, rather like attending a concert where every piece was just a variation on the same theme.
The main theme was that America’s higher education system is “underperforming.” Whereas in the past the United States had the highest percentage of its workforce holding college degrees of any nation, today a number of countries now surpass the U.S. and more are catching up. Several speakers, including Governor Mike Easley, asserted that this situation poses a threat to our standard of living. Businessman Thomas Tierney stated that there is a “direct relationship between completion of higher education and economic growth,” and since the U.S. is losing its “lead” over other nations, our standard of living is in jeopardy.
Boseman, Swindell named to leadership posts
RALEIGH – State Senators A.B. Swindell and Julia Boseman will be among the key legislators that will push higher education policy and funding through the North Carolina Senate during the 2007-08 legislative session.
Both were named to key leadership posts on committees that have oversight of higher education spending and policy in the state Senate. Committee assignments for state senators were announced Thursday. The state House has not made committee assignments.
Swindell and Boseman, both Democrats, will chair the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and Higher Education as well as the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee. Swindell is the senior chairman.
Republican Richard Stevens, of Wake County, will serve as the ranking Republican co-chairman on both committees.
Bowles leads accountability charge in first year
CHAPEL HILL – When Erskine Bowles took over as president of the University of North Carolina system in 2006, his top priorities were to make the system more accountable to taxpayers and to make the system more efficient. His interest in those goals was among the reasons that Bowles, a former business executive and Clinton administration chief of staff, was the top choice as a replacement for then-president Molly Broad.
In his first year, Bowles lived up to his promises in these areas. Throughout the year, Bowles and the Board of Governors initiated policies that focused on ways to “manage this organization in the most efficient, effective manner we possibly can,” as he told the Board of Governors in his first address. “We are going to do everything we can to make sure we operate this place in a manner that you can be proud of, that any organization could be proud of,” Bowles said in January 2006.
Bush FY 2008 budget includes more financial aid
Increases in federal higher education spending were among the proposals included in President Bush’s $2.9 trillion budget for fiscal year 2008, which he presented to the Democratic-controlled Congress Monday.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings’ Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which issued a report in September, had foreshadowed many of the budget proposals, including increases in Pell Grant funding and reforms of the federal financial aid system.
According to White House budget information, Bush is proposing a five-year increase in the Pell Grant funding. The increase would take the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,050 to $5,400.
Legislative agenda centered on PACE study
RALEIGH – Legislators return to Raleigh today for the start of the 2007 regular session, with Democrats holding stronger majorities in both the state House (68 Democrats to 52 Republicans) and Senate (31 Democrats to 19 Republicans). Within a week, legislators will begin to wade through wish-list items from the University of North Carolina system. The list includes policy changes and a large spending request to give more money for faculty salaries.
The first General Assembly session of the new year will be held at noon. Today’s sessions are primarily ceremonial, with swearing-in ceremonies and the official transfer of the Speaker of the House chair to Orange County Democrat Rep. Joe Hackney. Democrats elected Hackney to replace the embattled Rep. Jim Black. Senate Democrats elected Sen. Marc Basnight to serve an unprecedented eighth term as Senate President Pro Tem.
Private colleges, universities want part-time students to receive grants
RALEIGH – The state’s association of private, non-profit colleges is pushing to extend the state’s Legislative Tuition Grant program to part-time students. Hope Williams, president of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, made the appeal at a meeting of the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee in December.
The legislative tuition grant (called NCLTG) is a popular state program that has been in effect since 1975. In 2006, the General Assembly raised the maximum grant per student from $1,800 to $1,900 per year.
The program originated in efforts to “strengthen the academic, management, and financial quality and viability of the private higher education sector,” says education researcher Nat Fullwood, In the 1970s, the University of North Carolina system was expanding rapidly and it was evident that private colleges and universities would lose students to the state system.
North Carolina State Faculty Challenge Potential Donation
Outspoken faculty members with a strong political agenda have once again interfered in discussions about a potential donation to a North Carolina university.
Toby Parcel, dean of the College of Humanities and Social
Sciences at North Carolina State University, had quietly approached the Pope Foundation to explore funding for academic programs. But in a stormy public meeting in early December, some faculty members loudly and rudely made it clear that they don’t want their college to get any money from Pope.
Apparently opposing the Pope Foundation for its conservative political philosophy, several faculty members used over-the-top language, calling the money “dirty money” and saying that to accept funds would be “a very dangerous step.” (The discussions had involved support of a study abroad program and French and German language programs.)
Can States Use Higher Education as an Economic Tonic?
Politicians in three Midwestern states – Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin – have lately been working on plans that are based on the idea that higher education can spur state economies along to better performance. While the details differ somewhat, all are rooted in the concept that increasing the number of residents with college educations is an investment for the government. Put some money in now, get much more money back later.
Will it work?
In Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm calls the new Michigan Promise scholarship a cornerstone of her economic plan to revive Michigan’s lagging economy. The program provides a $4,000 scholarship to students who complete two years of post-secondary education at a two- or four-year school in Michigan, public or private, provided that they have a GPA of at least 2.5. In her press release, Governor Granholm stated, “A $4,000 scholarship makes earning a college degree or technical certification a real possibility for every student. It’s an amazing opportunity for our students and a critical necessity for our economy.” This new scholarship is part of an effort by the state to double the number of college graduates within the next decade.
The Top 10 Nuttiest Campus Events in 2006
Tis the season for traditional fare, and here it’s been tradition to take one last, not-so-fond look back at ten campus events of the expiring year that made us blush, cringe, or otherwise experience unpleasantness.
Blue Ridge CC censured by state board
RALEIGH – The Blue Ridge Community College’s Board of Trustees was censured Friday for its actions after an investigative audit in January found multiple financial violations involving the school’s baseball program. The expression of disapproval comes after talks failed between the school and the state to resolve some of the concerns listed in the audit report.
The censure took the form of a resolution approved during a special meeting called to address Blue Ridge Community College. It specifically deals with the board’s failure to monitor the actions of Blue Ridge Community College President David Sink and his involvement with the athletics department.