The Commissioner's Corner

The Challenges Ahead

by Robert B. Stein

With just six weeks remaining in my position as Commissioner of Higher Education, I’ve been doing some soul-searching about what the future holds for higher education in Missouri.

The legislative session which just ended passed some significant changes to state financial aid programs, but did not pass SJRs 44 and 45, which would have merged the departments of elementary and secondary education and higher education. The proposal may surface again in the coming months and years. In the meantime, however, education leaders and elected officials have several pressing issues requiring attention, including viable opportunities to promote a P-20 agenda without a formal merger.

While there are many unknowns about the future of Missouri’s higher education structure and leadership, my successor will face critical issues as the CBHE’s leader in working with higher education institutions and policymakers.

In the time that remains, I have generated the following list of potential higher education agendas and will encourage engaged discussion and prioritization of work for the immediate and long-term future.

• Initiate a discussion on the number of governing boards – realignment of institutions/boards for greater efficiency
• Begin a new initiative on a statewide review of existing programs to identify unnecessary duplication and ensure quality standards
• Increase outreach and financial literacy initiatives
• Engage in discussion with institutions about feasibility of flat tuition in advance of tuition decisions for the 2011-12 academic year
• Develop a P-20 agenda with DESE and DED
• Develop plan for the future of the guaranty agency
• Revisit institution selectivity categories and definitions
• Establish a public policy on distance learning and on-line programs
• Develop a plan to address student debt load (Four-year public graduates average student loan debt - $18,394; state rank – 28th)
• Reintroduce performance funding in the state’s budget for higher education
• Continue to develop a public agenda for all higher education
• Identify future legislative initiatives associated with state student financial aid programs and proprietary school certification
• Promote greater collaboration among institutions and across sectors
• Work toward resolution of institutional conflicts – Southeast region; public/private; two-year/four-year

In working with constituents, my successor will be challenged to address these and other as yet unforeseen issues to improve higher education efficiency and performance. I invite reader insights on any of these topics. It is clear that we must continue to be diligent.

In my next blog, I will provide additional views on a P-20 agenda for the immediate future.

More than Bricks and Mortar

By Robert B. Stein, Commissioner of Higher Education

Two staffers of the Missouri Department of Higher Education, Zora AuBuchon and Shannon Koenig, have been touring campus infrastructure at public colleges and universities around the state. Their visits are part of our agency’s mandate to submit a unified budget for higher education that uses taxpayers’ money in the most efficient way possible.

“We're finding a physical system on the brink of crisis,” Zora reports. “Colleges and universities have done the best they can with limited resources in recent years, but they need a major infusion of funds to address growing needs. Many buildings need major surgery, and current state appropriations are only enough for a band aid.”

Help for crumbling campus infrastructure is on the horizon in the form of the proposed Fifth State Building Fund, a measure introduced during the last legislative session to issue general obligation bonds for renovating and building on campuses statewide. According to its co-sponsor, Chris Kelly of Columbia, it “came within a whisker” of being sent to the citizens for a vote.

It is certainly a proposal that deserves the careful consideration and support of voters.

There are other practical reasons to support a bond issue now:

• Millions of dollars available for construction will create thousands of jobs around the state
• The Build America bond program, part of President Obama’s stimulus package, will pay 35 percent of interest costs
• Missouri’s AAA bond rating will create demand for the bonds, and interest rates are at record lows
• An existing revenue stream to pay back the bonds already exists

The latter point refers to the Third State Building Fund, adopted in 1982 under a similar bi-partisan plan led by then-governor Christopher Bond. Its payments will expire in two years, freeing up revenue for the Fifth State Building Fund.

Missouri’s public colleges and universities need a capital infusion to stay current with technology, meet student needs and become more energy efficient. But if Missouri’s citizens approve a Fifth State Building Fund, they will fund more than bricks and mortar. Capital infusion will stimulate Missouri’s economy while also building a stronger higher education infrastructure – the hallmark of future progress and prosperity.

SÍ, se puede – it can be done

When we look at the broad scope of influences on youth of any nationality, the most important influences come from people and programs: people such as parents, counselors, friends and mentors, and programs that people have put in place because they’ve figured out what works and wish to institutionalize it.

David Aguayo grew up in Mexico and moved with his parents to California, where a high school English teacher recognized his potential. At her recommendation, he applied to a national leadership program aimed at low income youth called Summer Search. Summer Search sent him backpacking in Colorado one summer and to a boarding school in Maine the next. In the process, they developed his leadership skills and motivated him to take the next big step – college

David says his father, a day laborer, told him the family had no money for college tuition. But through a combination of work, scholarship and loan programs – and the encouragement of Summer Search and his high school mentor – David is where he is today: an MU graduate with a degree in secondary education and aspirations for a PhD in counseling psychology.

The first years of college weren’t easy for David. He speaks of being isolated and lonely. But he learned from his mother’s example about the importance of community involvement. He joined HALO, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, on the MU campus. He began to apply his energy and positive attitude toward helping other Latino youth and founded an organization called ALBA that encourages Latino high school students to attend college

Inspired by another mentor, Linda Flores of the MU College of Education, David aspires to be a teacher and mentor to others like himself, who just need someone to look at them, and see potential.

Looking back over his obstacles and achievements, David says, “I’m still flying. We’ll just see where the wind takes me.” His motto says it all: Si, se puede – it can be done.