Q&A talks about challenges Connecticut’s higher education industry faces in 2015 with Gregory Gray, president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, which governs 17 state colleges and universities, including 12 community colleges, and Charter Oak State College.
Q: What are the major issues that will impact higher education in Connecticut in 2015?
A: As we see it at the Board of Regents for Higher Education (BOR), the top four issues that will impact higher education in 2015 include:
• The expected continuing decline in the number of high school graduates, and the corresponding decline in applications and enrollment in BOR institutions. Currently, and for the next decade, it is expected that high school graduates will decline at a 1.8 percent annual rate. This decline will flow through to our institutions, requiring that we look to other, non-traditional students for addressing our declines. These include older people, veterans, people in the workforce seeking to climb the corporate ladder or pursue different career paths.
• The continuing budget problems affecting many states are also being felt in Connecticut. We all understand the next biennium will be difficult for the state and the BOR. This will require us to sharpen our pencils anew for the current fiscal year as well as the coming biennium in order to contribute to a balanced state budget.
• There is a growing demand nationally from students for more flexible teaching delivery models. We are aware of those demands, and we are planning a response to them through our Transform CSCU 2020 plan to provide more flexible models. Doing so will require the involvement of and input from our college and university administrations and faculties, as well as from BOR technology experts. I am confident that, collectively, we can provide the learning platforms to meet the demands of the marketplace in a way that is consistent with faculty imperatives and student experience and preparedness.
• Finally, the need to provide businesses with a workforce that is trained not just for today but for the jobs of the future must be balanced with our obligation to produce graduates that have a strong liberal arts grounding, possessing the ability to think critically, articulate thoughts and ideas, and collaborate with co-workers. Business leaders that responded to a survey related to Transform CSCU 2020 have told us they need both, and we have a moral obligation to ensure that we excel at that balance.
Q: Will Connecticut’s state colleges begin to stem the enrollment decline in 2015?
A: We are hopeful that we can do so, and we are taking concrete steps now in that direction. One of the most obvious examples of our efforts is an initiative we launched earlier this year to increase enrollment for the fall 2014 semester. This initiative, called Go Back to Get Ahead, offered a free class for every two paid courses to students resuming their studies at one of the BOR institutions. So far, roughly 1,000 former Connecticut students have enrolled through Go Back to Get Ahead.
We will also be targeting non-traditional students. Many of our institutions have “over 50” programs designed to help people already pursuing their careers to reach for higher positions, and veterans returning from service who want to get back on track with their careers as well.
We are also continuing to introduce innovative partnerships between business and BOR. We introduced one such program this fall, called Pathways in Technology (P-Tech), a six-year academy model school at Norwalk Community College, created in collaboration with multinational technology corporation IBM. P-Tech will enable students to graduate with a high school diploma and associate degree in applied science from Norwalk Community College. There are three more programs scheduled to come online in the BOR system next year.
We will, however, face a continuing downward trend in high school graduations, which will require ongoing efforts on our part to augment those expected declines.
Q: What are you predicting in terms of tuition costs? Are state colleges going to need to increase tuition again?
A: We are committed to maintaining tuition increases to a level that is no higher than 2 percent, which is the level the Board set for this year. The Board of Regents feels a strong sense of responsibility adhering to this level, in order to maximize affordability and accessibility for our students. Of course, the tuition we set is based on enrollment, and on the appropriation we receive in the state budget.
For some context, a 2014 fiscal year comparison of competitive college tuition and fees to the Connecticut State University System is perhaps instructive. Of the 12 institutions deemed competitive to BOR universities, ours have the lowest average tuition, at $9,168. The highest is Fairfield University, at $43,770, and University of Connecticut’s is $12,700. For all of us, there is continuing upward pressure with regard to tuition, so preventing increases from year to year is virtually impossible. We committed last year to institute the lowest possible increase at 2 percent, and our budget for the next biennium is built around no more than 2 percent.
Q: If tuition in Connecticut continues to rise, what potential long-term impact will that have on the state and economy?
A: The long-term implications for steadily rising tuition is an unacceptable one — closing the door to eager students who will no longer be able to afford pursuing a college degree. And of course, there are significant “down-stream” implications as well. Producing fewer graduates reduces the workforce emerging fully prepared for successful careers, and richer lives. And, of course, reduction puts downward pressure on the economy, starting that cycle all over again. These are outcomes that we have an obligation to avoid, for the sake of our students and our state.
