The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents will vote Thursday on a controversial plan to consolidate 12 community colleges into a single accredited institution, a move expected to save nearly $28 million a year.
The plan outlined by CSCU President Mark Ojakian would shed nearly 190 people in top administrative positions by 2021.
The board is technically considering whether or not to accept preliminary accounting of the expected savings for what administrators are calling the “Students First College Consolidation.”
The board also is set to follow that vote with a resolution that would create a structure for the new “Community College of Connecticut,” according to documents posted with the agenda online. The change would have to be authorized by the accrediting body, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The regions in turn would be overseen by three different regional presidents.
Under the plan, a vice chancellor would oversee three regions containing four campuses each. The document does not specify which specific campuses would be in each region.
“The board is impelled by the planning teams’ representations that the one college model has the potential to deliver more efficient, consistent and critical resources to students,” the resolution states, in part. The proposed changes must be “expedited” to avoid double-digit tuition increases, the resolution adds.
In a report attached to the agenda, CSCU staff say no faculty positions would be affected by the changes, nor would such student support functions as advising and counseling be impacted.
The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Regents’ boardroom at 61 Woodland St. in Hartford.
