Coping with a New Financial Environment

1. Coping with a New Financial Environment Jane S. Shaw January 20, 2012

2. 1) Review Enrollment • The university system has grown so fast that it’s time to slow down. • Too many students are poorly prepared. • UNC should not spend millions on remediation, academic support, and summer bridge programs.

3. 2) Work with Community Colleges • Yes, it is important for young people to have access to higher education. • Community colleges teach students for less—about one third of UNC’s per-student costs. • They cost students less, too. • They are the best place for remedial education.

4. 3) Evaluate programs • Jobs are one measure of educational success. • But the university should educate the “whole person”—for citizenship, community life, and personal growth. • To restore public confidence, we urge you to improve the humanities disciplines.

5. 4) Re-evaluate research • The public is interested in how many classes you are • teaching…not so much in what research you are doing. • Faculty class loads may have to change.

6. 5) Reconsider graduate degree programs • Can graduates of advanced degree programs find jobs—inside or outside academia? • If not, produce fewer.

7. 6) Consider differential tuition • Flagships like UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State could raise tuition, possibly in return for less state funding. • Should a school like UNC School of the Arts, be similarly “liberated”?

8. 7) Carefully consider online education • Can UNC compete with low-cost distance programs? • Online may not be a promising source of university revenues. • But it may be a good teaching vehicle for some instructors.

9. 8) Revamp education schools • This is the second most important step for restoring public confidence (after reviving the humanities). • Criticism of education schools is widespread. • Techniques for measuring value-added are more available. • The time is now!