Patton: Sustain higher-ed reforms
October 16, 2002
FRANKFORT - Beset by scandal and lame duck status, Gov. Paul Patton called on his successor to uphold the higher education reform that he enacted in 1997, warning that its survival could be in jeopardy without sustained attention.
"Lots of times, governors don't want to adopt the children of their predecessors," Patton told a conference held by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence yesterday to discuss five years of higher education reform. But, "it's the fundamental necessity for future progress in Kentucky."
Patton hailed reform's successes, which Aims McGuinness, an analyst with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, laid out in detail.
"You have embarked on the most extraordinary reform," said McGuinness, an architect of the 1997 act. "People are watching you, and there are many people who will be severely disappointed if you fumble. It is really fragile, and support is not as deep as you need to make it."
McGuinness praised the vision of improving the quality of life of Kentuckians by creating the independent community college system, a new, centralized form of funding, and a strong central governing board, the Council on Postsecondary Education.
He cited dramatic gains in the number of students going to college, huge increases in university, community college and adult education enrollment, and more students taking GEDs as signs the reform is bearing fruit.
One of the most dramatic improvements in Kentucky is in per capita income, which increased from 77.3 percent of the national average in 1990 to 83.8 percent in 2000. It was the fifth-highest rate of increase in the country.
Staying focused on improving Kentucky, not empire building at individual schools, is critical for the reform to continue, McGuinness said.
"Sustaining the message about people and the economy is so fundamental," he said. "People just drift back to the same old stuff: 'How do I get money for my programs?' If that's where Kentucky moves, you're really in trouble."
Both McGuinness and Patton warned the crowd about potential land mines that could derail reform -- sabotage by university presidents, a lack of confidence from legislators, and short-sighted attitudes about funding shortfalls.
The Council on Postsecondary Education, which is supposed to hire a new president by the end of the year, must work to gain the confidence of the General Assembly, the business world, and university communities, McGuinness said.
In particular, he said that funding shortfalls -- sure to continue for the next few years -- should not stop the state from using monetary incentives to universities for meeting or exceeding specific goals, such as improving enrollment or graduation rates.
"That little bit of money is the rudder for reform," McGuinness said.
University presidents, all of whom appeared yesterday or sent representatives, got both warnings and pleas to uphold reform.
"These guys are on the front line, and they must be engaged in the process," McGuinness said of the presidents. "The number one destroyer of this effort ahead is for one or two institutions to say 'our well-being is more important than the well-being of the state.'"
Several of the regional universities have balked at or complained about how the reform ignored their needs in the past five years.
But Lee Todd, president of the University of Kentucky, said reform was the only way all schools could succeed.
"Any step back from this commitment will take Kentucky to the days of splintered priorities, political spoils and very costly factionalism," he told the group.
Western Kentucky University President Gary Ransdell, a critic of former CPE President Gordon Davies, said presidents were behind reform's vision. But he said, the council needs to focus more on the individual identities of the comprehensive universities.
"The only way to get cooperation is to make sure the institutions' identities are not lost," he said.
The Courier-Journal/The Associated Press
October 16, 2002
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky has made remarkable strides since overhauling higher education five years ago, but future reform is far from certain, according to a report released on the anniversary of the effort.
And the ultimate outcome could depend on the next governor and the next president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, Gov. Paul Patton said yesterday.
''While Kentucky is making progress, it will take a sustained commitment over a 10to 20-year period to raise the standard of living for all Kentucky to levels at or above the national average,'' said the report prepared for the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, an influential citizen group that monitors Kentucky education issues.
The report was prepared by Aims McGuinness, a consultant with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and one of the architects of the 1990 elementary and secondary education reforms as well as the 1997 higher-education overhaul.
McGuinness noted that Kentucky's enrollment and retention rates are up for higher education, state investment has improved, more money has been attracted for research, adult education has improved, and per-capita income has increased.
''Kentucky's progress since the 1997 assessment has been nothing short of remarkable,'' McGuinness said.
With his term up late next year, Patton said advocates for higher education should get the ear of gubernatorial candidates to emphasize the point.
Patton said the next president of the Council on Postsecondary Education must also repair relations with the General Assembly and gain the support of the often disparate group of university and college presidents to foster the larger goals of higher education over those of individual institutions.
McGuinness said presidents have an obligation to further their own institutions.
The Prichard Committee, however, adopted a resolution at the end of its meeting to ''encourage collaboration and cooperation among institutions of higher education so that a genuine 'system''' is maintained.
October 16, 2002
Henderson adult learning program earns state bonus
The Henderson Community College Adult Learning Center has been recognized as one of the programs "leading the charge for (Kentucky's) adult education efforts."
That description of progressive centers who substantially exceeded their adult education enrollment goals in the 2001-2002 fiscal year was given by Cheryl King, commissioner of the state's Department for Adult Education and Literacy.
The local center had an enrollment goal of 761 for the year and more than doubled that figure with an actual enrollment of 1,829. The achievement earned the Henderson program a state bonus of $14,751, which reportedly will be primarily utilized for staff development.
This marks the second year the center has received a bonus. Last year, in the first year of the rewards program, the facility located in the HCC campus administration building received more than $11,000.
Of 71 Kentucky centers recognized for their efforts, the HCC program ranks among the top five in both percentage of increases and in enrollment numbers, local officials said.
Enrollment in adult education programs in Kentucky in the last fiscal year totaled 86,413, which surpassed the goal of 75,000 students. The 2000-2001 enrollment was 62,734 students.
Allen Rose, secretary of the state Cabinet for Workforce Development, said the significance of adult education enrollment increases "lies in the fact that for every person who becomes better educated, Kentucky has one more person better prepared to earn a living, to pursue postsecondary education, to be a role model, and to contribute as a fully involved citizen."
Last April the HCC center -- which does not charge students for its adult education and literary services -- became one of seven "demonstration" centers in the state. Donna White, a learning center instructor, said new adult education instructors "come here to see what we do.
"We're involved in most any new adult education initiative there is in the state. We're always out there doing and trying new things."
The center has participated in a number of adult education pilot programs. Currently, it is involved in a new program through the Kentucky Adult Education Literacy Initiative, which is exploring innovative ways of teaching adult education students.
The local program also is utilizing the "Plato" On-line program that prospective college students can use to assess their academic skills prior to college enrollment.
Last year White and Pam Wilson, learning center director, participated in an adult education conference in China and provided information about the program here.
The center had 180 GED graduates during the 2001-2002 academic year.
For more information, call the learning center at 830-5270.