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News Update From the Council on Postsecondary Education
COUNCIL NEWS:

Cowgill to serve as interim Council president

The Council on Postsecondary Education has appointed Brad Cowgill, state budget director, to serve as interim Council president. Cowgill's contract begins Sept. 1 and he is expected to serve through the next session of the General Assembly. There will be a one-month transition period when Cowgill comes on board. Tom Layzell, current Council president, will retire Sept. 30. The Council terminated its search in July for a permanent replacement for Layzell and plans to reopen its search at a later date.

Council receives four new members

On July 13, Governor Ernie Fletcher appointed four new members to the Council on Postsecondary Education. Virginia G. Fox, of Frankfort, replaces Joan Taylor, and will serve on the Council until December 31, 2012. Dr. Suvas G. Desai, of Lexington, replaces Susan S. Guess who resigned, and will serve the remainder of the unexpired term ending December 31, 2007. Joseph S. Weis, of Louisville, replaces Bonita K. Black, and will serve until December 31, 2011. The fourth member, Bryan A. Blavatt, of Union, replaced Ronald Greenberg. His term was effective July 31, 2007 and he will serve until December 31, 2012. Additionally, Ryan Quarles, of Georgetown, was reappointed as the student representative to the Council and will serve until June 30, 2008.

Kentucky Virtual Campus reshapes mission at 10-year mark

The Kentucky Virtual Campus celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year with a new name and a new mission. Formerly the Kentucky Virtual University, the change to the "Virtual Campus" signifies the evolving needs of distance learning providers and learners in Kentucky. As Kentucky's colleges and universities have embraced online learning technologies once provided by KYVC as core, mission-critical services they now provide and manage themselves, the KYVC will increase its role serving as an information clearinghouse where students can find all online programs and courses available at Kentucky institutions. KYVC will continue to support institutions in their online education efforts through consulting, coordinating group purchasing to cut costs, and expanding statewide marketing efforts focused on online education. The KYVC call center will provide one-on-one support to online students, receiving an average of almost 2,000 calls per month. In addition to these efforts, KYVC continues to support several state agencies including Kentucky Adult Education, Education Professional Standards Board and the Governmental Services Center that provide online professional development opportunities for teachers and other state employees. For more information, visit the KYVC Web site at www.kyvc.org.

Postsecondary Education Task Force to hold public forums

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce's Postsecondary Education Task Force will sponsor a series of public forums around the state this month to hear what business and civic leaders, educators and other Kentuckians think about the influence and impact of postsecondary education at the community level. The task force is comprised of business leaders who are reviewing Kentucky's progress in postsecondary education since the enactment of The Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997. The task force plans to issue a report to outline progress, identify continuing challenges, and issue recommendations, which will be released at an education summit in December. Kentuckians' comments from the public forums will be considered as the task force report and recommendations are finalized. All meetings will be held from 10 a.m. until noon, local time.

Kentucky's national leadership in education continues

Reecie Stagnolia, associate vice president of Kentucky Adult Education, has been elected to a two-year term on the Executive Committee of the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC). The organization provides professional development, policy analysis and dissemination of information important to state staff in adult education. As a member of the executive committee, Stagnolia will provide input to shape national adult education initiatives. NAEPDC works with the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute for Literacy, the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, the National Center for Adult Literacy, the National Coalition for Literacy and other national adult education organizations in planning for programs and activities to support adult learning initiatives. For more information on NAEPDC, visit http://www.naepdc.org/.

RESEARCH TOPICS IN EDUCATION:

SREB Fact Book on Higher Education, 50th anniversary edition

This annual publication from the Southern Regional Education Board is one of the nation's most comprehensive collections of comparative data on higher education.

Demography Is Not Destiny

This study from the Pell Institute examines the institutional characteristics, practices and policies that might account for differences in retention and graduation rates among large public colleges and universities that serve high numbers of low-income students.

Examinee and High School Senior Performance on the GED Tests

This research study from the American Council on Education's GED Testing Service provides evidence of the academic value of the GED. According to the study, adults with GEDs have literacy scores about equal to those of adults with high school diplomas who did not go on to postsecondary education.

EnterpriseSouth.biz report

This report from the Southern Growth Policies Board supports a cultural shift in the South to an enterprise economy, characterized by an educated, entrepreneurial workforce.

Digest of Education Statistics

This annual publication from the National Center for Education Statistics provides a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of P-20 American education.

 

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