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The next chancellor for the University of Maine System, Joseph Westphal, breezed this week through a couple of issues he will surely face when he starts in April: boosting research and development, capturing students now lost to schools out of state, being more accountable to the public. All good and all correct. But here a few more he might consider.
It is unlikely Mr. Westphal made it through his recent meeting with Gov. Angus King without the governor showing him a chart ranking states by the amount of money, per full-time equivalent student (FTE), that each state spends on its public post-secondary schools. Maine ranks an impressive eighth, which some would say is too high for such a poor state. At the same time, the chancellor-elect will hear a lot from Mainers talking about the high cost of tuition and room and board, which is reflected in numerous studies, including the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual “Measuring Up,” report. Maine was one of only three states to receive an F for affordability in the 2000 Measuring Up survey.
How is it that the state spends a lot per FTE yet Maine still comes in at the bottom of affordability? One reason is that Maine has few students relative to other states, yet still must pay for the basic infrastructure of higher education – it has a network of technical colleges, universities and teaching sites and centers to support but the student populations at some of the campuses can be counted by hundreds rather than thousands. Maine students may gain from having small campuses not too far from home, and the communities certainly benefit from having them, but there is a cost, and it is reflected in this state’s ability to make higher education more affordable.
A second question deals with the balance the chancellor must strike between funding the campuses fairly and boosting, as he noted, R&D, which would primarily occur at the University of Maine in Orono. Other universities within the system look hungrily at the amount Orono gets per student, about four times, for instance, the rate at the University of Maine at Augusta. R&D might not be counted directly into the per-student state subsidy, but local university officials know exactly how much everyone is getting. This can lead to a common failing throughout Maine government when it tries to target sufficient money at a single problem. Instead, any time it appears that one program is going to get a meaningful increase, legislators make certain the money is spread out to satisfy local constituents and in the process ensure the amount left over is no longer enough to solve the original problem.
And a third issue also requires an astute mix of leadership and money. The University of Southern Maine has grown significantly in recent years under the leadership of President Richard L. Pattenaude. It is feeling pressure to grow even further to serve the demands of an expanding business base in Portland, yet in its expansion it begins to duplicate the programs offered at the system’s flagship university, in Orono. Part of the point of a university system is to avoid this very problem, and President Pattenaude and UMaine President Peter Hoff have worked together well on this problem, but it is not nearly settled. The next chancellor could help could help the situation and in the process redefine roles of the various universities and establish new ways for them to cooperate.
There are, of course, many other large issues waiting for the new chancellor, but why spoil the surprise?
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