BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state's public colleges may have
their academic degree programs scaled back, based on
recommendations approved Tuesday by a state higher education review
panel.
The Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission also
voted to propose equal funding for associate degree programs at
community colleges and the two-year degrees at universities. Today,
universities receive more money because the faculty members are
paid more.
Commission member and former LSU Chancellor James Wharton pushed
three other recommendations approved Tuesday.
"There may be graduate programs that don't have anything to do
with that region of the state," Wharton said. "Should the state
support graduate programs that don't have anything to do with the
region?"
Commission member Belle Wheelan, who is the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools president, said some of the bachelor's
degree-focused universities "grew too far."
Commission member Mark Musick, the Southern Regional Education
Board president emeritus, said regional universities should focus
more on teaching undergraduates, while LSU must do a better job of
attracting and educating graduate students.
Wharton has complained, for example, that too many public
schools have specialized engineering programs. LSU, Southern
University, the University of Louisiana at University, Louisiana
Tech University and the University of New Orleans all have multiple
engineering degree programs. McNeese State University has a general
engineering technology program.
Wharton on Monday and Tuesday has mentioned the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette when discussing the outgrowth of regional
universities and degree programs.
The review panel, often dubbed the Tucker Commission after House
Speaker Jim Tucker who sponsored the legislation, is tasked with
advising ways to streamline higher education. Gov. Bobby Jindal has
asked the commission to recommend how to cut $146 million from
college budgets during lean financial times.
Wharton's approved recommendations were to:
-Require the state's higher education oversight body the Board
of Regents to review the role, scope and mission of colleges to
eliminate or minimize "mission creep." That creeping involves
colleges going beyond their basic missions, such as offering too
many graduate-level degrees.
-Require the Regents and college management boards to review and
eliminate more duplicate academic programs and to reduce "excess
hours" required to graduate in academic programs.
-Require the Regents to consider program quality, state
workforce needs, completion rates and other factors in the program
reviews. The motion also would make the Regents complete annual
update reports for the governor and legislative leaders.
"In some small way it does hold feet to the fire," Wharton
said. "But, more importantly, it informs our government
officials."
State Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen said about
100 "low-completer" academic programs were axed statewide. Many
were at technical college campuses and not universities.
Commission member David Longanecker, who is the president of the
Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education, said next month
he wants to discuss the state rearranging the structures of the
state's higher education systems.
The review commission next meets on Dec. 14-15 with focuses on
funding issues and the makeup of the higher education systems.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
