Coping with a New Financial Environment

Jane S. ShawJanuary 20, 2012

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.

1) Review Enrollment

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.

2) Work with Community Colleges

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.

3) Evaluate programs

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.

Can graduates of advanced degree programs find jobs—inside or outside academia?

If not, produce fewer.

5) Reconsider graduate degree programs

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”?

6) Consider differential tuition

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.

7) Carefully consider online education

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!

8) Revamp education schools