News Update From the Council on Postsecondary Education

COUNCIL NEWS

2007 legislative session adjourns

On March 27, the General Assembly adjourned without taking final action on many of postsecondary education’s priority items. Despite early endorsement by the legislative and executive branches, measures to restore capital projects vetoed last session stalled due to a stalemate over a proposed overhaul of the state’s retirement system. Projects left in limbo include academic buildings, research facilities, community college buildings, and housing and dining improvements. Also left unaddressed were important state-level funding pools to support capital renewal and maintenance, research, and statewide technology upgrades. Other legislative proposals that did not pass both chambers include authorization for WKU’s Math and Science Academy, math and science teaching incentives, and support for Advanced Placement (AP) program improvements. A full report on the legislative session will be available at the April 4 Council meeting.

STEM Task Force unveils recommendations, begins implementation plans

The Council’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Task Force released its final report March 20 containing eight recommendations to accelerate Kentucky’s performance in STEM disciplines. The report, Kentucky’s STEM Imperative: Competing in the Global Economy, provides a bold plan to boost STEM performance in government, business and P-12 and postsecondary education. Chaired by Lee Todd, president of the University of Kentucky, the 110 member task force will continue to meet and develop implementation action plans to be released September 2007.

Are high school graduates in your area going to college?

The High School Feedback Report for the Class of 2004 to be released April 2 by the Council examines the college participation and success of Kentucky’s 2004 high school graduates. Produced collaboratively with data collected by the Council, the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, ACT, Inc. and The College Board, substantial improvements have been made since the last report in 2006. Each high school report features comparison information at the school, district and state levels and important school statistics such as ACT and Advanced Placement test-taking and success. The full report will be available April 2 on the Council Web site.

Harvard to conduct statewide diversity study

Harvard’s Civil Rights Project will conduct a statewide diversity study for public postsecondary education in the Commonwealth. The study will begin this spring and will identify the interest that the state, the Council and each public postsecondary education institution have in developing and implementing a diversity plan. The Council’s Committee on Equal Opportunities currently oversees the state’s desegregation and equal educational opportunities plans, which have historically focused exclusively on strategies to increase the representation of Kentucky resident African Americans. The diversity study will identify the various racial and ethnic groups that should be included in a statewide diversity plan for postsecondary education. The report is expected to be completed by March 1, 2008. For more information about the study, visit the Council Web site.

Council staff visits campuses to discuss funding policies

President Tom Layzell and Council staff visited campuses over the past two months soliciting input from the presidents regarding the Council’s funding policies. Sandy Woodley, the Council’s vice president for finance, is meeting over the next month with finance staff at each institution to continue the discussions. Input from these meetings will be considered by the Council’s Budget and Finance Policy Group as new funding policies are developed. The Council is expected to approve new policies by July 2007 in time to incorporate them into the 2008-10 budget recommendation.

Inaugural Kentucky Principals Academy to begin summer 2008

The Council is working with partner agencies and postsecondary institutions to launch the first Kentucky Principals Academy in summer 2008. Funded by the General Assembly in the 2006-08 budget, the KPA will be a collaborative effort among those Kentucky postsecondary institutions with education leadership programs. The primary goal of the academy is to improve P-12 student learning through specialized professional development for public school principals. The Council is currently soliciting proposals from each postsecondary institution that trains school principals to serve as a KPA host institution.

Campus Safety Task Force holds public forums

During the month of March, the Governor’s Task Force on Campus Safety held open campus forums at six locations throughout the state where students and staff voiced their concerns about security and suggested solutions to perceived problems. The task force was established by Governor Fletcher in November 2006 to undertake a comprehensive review of all aspects of campus security policies and practices. The task force is expected to complete its work and deliver recommendations to the Governor in July 2007.

KentuckySat project team receives “first communication” from student-created satellite

The KentuckySat (KySat) team reached a milestone this month in the development of the flight software for the first reported pico class (CubeSat) state-developed satellite. The project team, comprised of engineering and science students from Morehead State University, Murray State University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University and KCTCS, “received” their first communication from the bench engineering model of KySat1 via Morse Code. The primary mission of the ambitious KySat Enterprise is to train students in the dynamics of spacecraft design, construction, launch, payload development and on-orbit operations and to support the array of accompanying education and research applications. Once in orbit, KySat1 (and future missions) will be made available at no cost to Kentucky students, parents, teachers, schools, colleges and universities for educational and research purposes. The KySat project plans to have a minimum of one launch/mission every year beginning in 2008. To learn more, visit the KySat Enterprise Web site.

Technology Day features Internet2 initiative

The Kentucky Internet2 Initiative was showcased at ConnectKentucky's "Tech Day in Kentucky" March 1 at Frankfort High School. The I2 demo connected participants at Frankfort High School, Scott County High School, University of Louisville and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Using Internet2’s high bandwidth and high performance connection, participants observed in real time the Southern Skies in Toowoomba, Australia, talked to a scientist at that observatory and discussed celestial matters with Dr. John Kielkopf, the premier astronomer at University of Louisville. For more information, visit the Internet2 Web site.

New reports section on Council Web site

The Council launched a new Reports & Papers section of its Web site this month featuring an index of Council, state and national reports related to postsecondary and adult education. The index features more than 140 reports and papers dating back to 2000 and organized by year. The new section will be continuously updated as new reports are issued.

CURRENT RESEARCH TOPICS IN EDUCATION

Hitting Home: Quality, Cost and Access Challenges Confronting Higher Education Today

Part of the Lumina Foundation’s “Making Opportunity Affordable” initiative, this report shows that the difference between expected U.S. degree production and degree production needed to compete with best-performing nations will reach nearly 16 million degrees by 2025.

Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness

This U.S. Chamber of Commerce report card grades all 50 states on the performance of their K-12 school systems and evaluates the relationship between spending and student success.

The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High School

This report from the Alliance for Excellent Education shows that if the high school dropouts from the class of 2005-2006 had instead earned their diplomas with their classmates, the nation’s economy would have benefited from $309 billion in additional income over their lifetimes.

Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States

This report from the Sloan Consortium shows more than one million college students were enrolled in online academic courses at two- and four-year institutions in SREB states in 2006, a 68 percent increase over the previous year and nearly double the 35 percent national gain.

SREB State Data Exchange 2005-06

This report highlights the key results from the latest SREB State Data Exchange report examining where each SREB state stands on enrollment, degrees conferred, funding, student charges and faculty compensation.

Can Higher Education Foster Economic Growth?

This summary from a conference co-hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact examines the role higher education plays in economic growth.

March 30, 2007