There has been significant investment in Connecticut’s higher education system in recent years to help state colleges and universities boost enrollment and bolster programs that aim to better prepare the next generation workforce.
In 2015, we’ll start to see if some of them pay off.
That includes UConn’s $1 billion Next Generation Connecticut initiative that, over the next decade, aims to greatly expand the school’s research and curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The cornerstone of the effort is a major increase in the university’s enrollment, faculty expansion, and the development of several new STEM facilities. In 2015, the school will begin construction of a new Engineering and Science Building and decide on a 20-year master plan that will shape the physical development of UConn’s flagship campus.
Development of a new Storrs Technology Park will also be underway.
Meantime, a recent spat between Board of Regents President Gregory Gray and professors at the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system brought into focus disagreements over how the state’s Transform CSCU 2020 initiative should move forward.
Lawmakers approved $125.5 million in funding for the effort, which aims to stem a four-year enrollment decline at state colleges and universities by: broadening access to non-traditional students; modernizing academic offerings with online and other flexible approaches; and further educating the current workforce and catering to industry needs like developing more advanced manufacturing workers. The specifics about how the plan will be implemented will likely come to light in 2015 as Gray and the colleges hash out their differences.
Of course, focus will continue to be on Connecticut’s ability to churn out young graduates who stay in the state and fill jobs increasingly being vacated by retiring Baby Boomers.
Tuition costs will also be an issue. With Connecticut college students graduating with the sixth-highest debt in the country, according to a recent report from The Project on Student Debt, private and public schools will face pressure to rein in costs to mitigate tuition hikes.Â