Should students and faculty have more prominent voices on boards of trustees at UNC System schools? Should the system’s board of governors elect members geographically, be more transparent and open to public input? And will any of these suggestions matter to a Republican dominated legislature resistant to such changes? These were a few of the questions members of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina tackled in its third public listening session on Monday. The session, held at the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce, drew a sparse but vocal crowd – typical of the listening sessions held so far.
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higher education
higher education
In their first public listening session Tuesday, members of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina outlined their mission and heard concerns from parents and faculty members from UNC-Wilmington. The meeting, held in Wilmington and live streamed online, was the first opportunity for the bi-partisan commission to hear from the public on its overall mission - examining the current appointment system for members of the UNC System board of governors and trustees at the 16 constituent campuses. The commission is also examining how that governance can better reflect the state’s ethnic, racial, gender, regional, economic and political diversity and working to craft a set of principles and responsibilities for university governance.
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UNC Chapel Hill history professor William Sturkey on his deep concerns about the plans of university trustees to establish a new school on the campus devoted to advancing conservative ideology.
Read Sturkey’s latest commentary: UNC Chapel Hill trustees misfire with rushed and ill-conceived plan to launch conservative school
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Two weeks ago, the UNC Board of Trustees arrived in Chapel Hill hellbent on launching yet another salvo in the campus Culture Wars. They surprised everyone with a resolution calling for the creation of a new “School of Civic Life and Leadership.” Comprised “of a minimum of 20 dedicated faculty,” this proposed school would help develop student “skills in public discourse” in the service of “promoting democracy and serving to benefit society.”
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Learn more about our higher education system at Higher Ed Works.
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Last week, Policy Watch examined the UNC System's $16.8 million 2023 budget request of the General Assembly -- money that would be sued to incentivize professors at five universities to retire. Among the drivers of that request is a drop in enrollment, due in part to years of lower birth rates. That impact is about to grow.
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Report is the latest indictment of the Trump administration's consumer protection efforts in higher ed WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016. Significant turnover and reductions among staff. Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.”
...Proponents say their objective is to protect freedom of speech and thought, but critics see other motives and many potential landmines Discussions about political debates, beliefs, affiliations, ideals or principles could be banned in employment and enrollment processes at UNC System schools, if the UNC Board of Governors approves a proposed rule change.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would overhaul a federal student loan income-driven repayment plan, and, if implemented, could help millions of low-income borrowers. However, it’s unclear how the agency would be able to finance the program. Many student debt relief advocates also criticized the proposal for leaving out graduate students and parental loans.
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“It is difficult to make predictions,” Dutch politician Karl Kristian Steincke once wrote. “Especially about the future.” But if you’re a reporter who carefully follows a few issues, you don’t need a crystal ball to have a fairly good idea of what to look for in the new year. Here are some stories we're certain we’ll be following and reporting on in 2023: 1. Renewed legislative assaults on LGBTQ people
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In recent years, more states have crafted environmental justice policies to help communities of color plagued by polluted air and water, poor health outcomes and limited access to green space. But now they fear that work could be upended by a pair of pending U.S. Supreme Court cases examining affirmative action admissions policies at universities. If the court strikes down affirmative action, many state lawmakers believe, the ruling could open legal challenges to “race-conscious” laws that seek to help marginalized communities.
...Worried about the economy and rattled by a global pandemic that upended the traditional university experience, a growing percentage of university students worry higher education is no longer worth the cost. That anxiety is one factor in falling admissions at some UNC campuses, leading system leaders to scramble for solution: Raising the cap on admissions from out-of-state students, simplifying the transfer of credits between institutions, and launching new investments in online education, and renewing an emphasis on the value of the state’s community college system.
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WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by June 30, and if litigation is still tied up in the courts, student loan payments will begin 60 days after that.
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