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Herald-Leader
August 7, 2003
KCTCS, from divisive issue to 'clear-cut success'
MERGED COLLEGE SYSTEM IS LAUDED BY NEARLY ALL INVOLVED
Once, the mere suggestion of merging Kentucky's community colleges and technical
schools into a single system was enough to start a fight.
The University of Kentucky, in particular, battled hard to maintain control
of the community college system which, since its inception in 1963, had been
part of the university.
Some community college supporters didn't relish giving up the UK connection,
thinking it gave the community colleges prestige as local extensions of UK.
Others, most notably the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, however,
wanted a separate system for the community colleges.
The Prichard Committee, in a 1981 report, said community colleges were getting
lost amid UK's many concerns. UK should concentrate on becoming a top research
university, the committee said, and the community colleges would be more effective
focusing on two-year degree programs tied to job skills and should be merged
with the state's vocational and technical schools.
That's what happened in the higher education reform enacted in 1997.
Five years after the Kentucky Community and Technical College System opened
in 1998, most worries seem to have subsided.
"It's the most clear-cut success in post-secondary education since the
reforms," said Robert F. Sexton, executive director of the Prichard Committee.
Worries about breaking ties with UK are history.
"What was a serious issue has become a non-issue," said Bruce Leslie,
a Greenup lawyer and chairman of the board of the Ashland Community and Technical
College. "The vast majority of the public seems very pleased. The quality
of education has continued to improve."
The new system appears to be operating effectively: Enrollment has grown by
almost 50 percent to about 68,000, and only four more mergers are needed to
complete all 16 of the new community and technical colleges.
The new system is also drawing praise for quicker response to local needs.
"It has improved access by bringing education and training programs more
directly in line with the needs of current and future business," said Hugh
Haydon, former head of the Owensboro-Daviess County Chamber of Commerce.
The Owensboro Community and Technical College has been one of the fastest-growing
in the system. Haydon said the college has made an "aggressive outreach."
Much of this early success might be due to Michael B. McCall, a veteran educator
who is KCTCS's first and, so far, only president.
McCall has relentlessly promoted and explained the KCTCS system, visiting each
campus regularly, writing opinion pieces for newspapers, and engineering a blizzard
of press releases to extol KCTCS.
There was no road map to follow, McCall said recently.
"It was in a state of flux after the higher education reforms came through,"
he said. "There was more of a wait-and-see attitude, but we were focused
and the legislature was very supportive.
"We have provided stability to the system," he said.
Consolidating the campuses has been daunting in itself.
What had been 50 campuses and 28 legal entities will be 16 colleges by December
2004. In the last two years, there have been 32 construction projects.
By law, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System reports to the
state Council on Postsecondary Education.
"We're responsible to them for improvement and performance," McCall
said.
But the council has given KCTCS the authority to approve all of its associate's,
or two-year, degree programs. McCall called the council a "strong advocate
and good partner."
Now, in a solid position after its first five years, the system has embarked
on a fund-raising campaign for new economy initiatives and student scholarships,
but the goal has not yet been announced.
Other states, including Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Washington and Georgia
"are looking at the Kentucky model," McCall said.
McCall cautions that the 10 percent annual enrollment growth KCTCS has experienced
might begin to level off at 5 percent.
A bigger worry is the state's revenue shortfall, which has caused KCTCS to
raise tuition by 23 percent this year.
"We've been able to become strong and viable," McCall said. "We
want to continue to make progress."
Herald-Leader
August 7, 2003
BIO
Michael B. McCall: President of KCTCS
Occupation: President, Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
Residence: Jessamine County.
Born: Wilmington, N.C.
Age: 55
Education: Bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics, University
of North Carolina-Wilmington (1969); master's degree in physics (1971) and and
doctorate in educational administration (1976), Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
Career: Instructor of physics and science, New River Technical Institute,
Dublin, Va. (1969-71). Associate professor of physics and science coordinator,
New River Community College, Radford, Va. (1971-75). Owner, Newbern Construction
Co. (1971-76). Assistant dean of instruction, New River Community College, Dublin,
Va. (1975-76). Division chairman and associate professor, Tidewater Community
College, Virginia Beach, Va. (1976-81). President (1984-88), and dean and professor
(1981-1984), Paul D. Camp Community College, Franklin, Va. President, Florence
Darlington, S.C., Technical College (1988-93). Executive director (1994-98)
and deputy executive director (1993-94), South Carolina State Board for Technical
and Comprehensive Education. President, KCTCS (1999-present).
Family: Wife, Carolyn Simmons McCall; three children, Chandra, 27, Michael,
24, and Elizabeth, 24.
Herald-Leader
August 7, 2003
TIMELINE
Kentucky Community and Technical College System
May 1997: Gov. Paul Patton signs Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement
Act of 1997, which creates KCTCS, bringing 15 technical colleges and 13 community
colleges under one governing board.
July 1998: The state transfers the technical institutions to KCTCS.
The Council on Postsecondary Education, or CPE, approves the first KCTCS degrees.
December 1998: Michael B. McCall is hired as first president of KCTCS.
April 1999: Community and technical colleges begin to consolidate.
July 1999: CPE approves first degree programs for technical colleges.
August 1999: KCTCS Foundation, the system's fund-raising arm, is created.
July 2000: Kentucky Workforce Investment Network System, or KY WINS,
is established to provide funding for business and industry training projects
through KCTCS Workforce Trust Fund.
July 2001: National Science Foundation awards grant to assist in increasing
enrollment, diversity and success of students in industrial and engineering
technology programs.
September 2001: Enrollment reaches record of more than 60,000 students.
Funding is received to create a comprehensive community and technical college
in Northern Kentucky.
October 2001: KCTCS, the University of Kentucky and Lexington Community
College announce $2 million National Science Foundation project to establish
Kentucky Information Technology Center.
December 2001: CPE survey shows students and graduates of KCTCS colleges
express strong satisfaction with their educational experience.
April 2002: ACT Centers are established at five locations to provide
testing and training programs for businesses, individuals and organizations.
September 2002: Record enrollment of more than 67,000 students.
November 2002: KCTCS launches first major fund-raising drive, Fulfilling
the Promise Campaign.
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