House Bill 1183 would give the children of illegal immigrants the privilege of attending UNC schools and community colleges in N.C. for in-state tuition. Looks like yet another talking point used to sell us on the $3.1 billion bond referendum for higher education in 2000 could turn out to be a big fat whopper.
“No one spends other people’s money as carefully as he spends his own.” So says Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. Let’s keep that in mind as we consider a new spending proposal being pushed by one of the schools in the UNC system.
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC-P) has advanced a plan to build a new school of optometry at the geographically remote campus. The budget contains $10 million for the initial planning and development of the project, but no funds can be expended until the UNC president’s office gives approval. A meeting to decide on the plan is scheduled for later this month.
CHAPEL HILL – UNC-Pembroke leaders are in the development stages of a proposed School of Optometry — a school some say is unneeded given the prospect for a surplus of optometrists in the country.
Already, $10 million in state funding has been appropriated for UNC-Pembroke to plan and develop the new school. According to UNC-Pembroke Vice President for University and Community Relations Glen Burnette, that money cannot be used until UNC Office of the President gives the proposal the green light. UNC-Pembroke officials are scheduled to meet with members of an administration committee within the Office of the President by the end of the month in an effort to obtain approval to go ahead with the project.
They promised 500 and delivered … a handful.
CHAPEL HILL - UNC President Molly Broad announced her retirement Wednesday in a letter to Board of Governors Chair Brad Wilson. The announcement comes two days after a Senate GOP letter lobbied to name former Clinton Administration Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles the system’s next president.
Broad’s retirement is effective at the end of the 2005-06 school year or once a successor is named. An economist by training, Broad came to the UNC system in 1997 after serving as the executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer for four years with the California State University system.
2002: “How many small cuts do you take before you cry out in pain?”
1992: “The state’s flagship university is being nickel-and-dimed to death.”
It is incontestably true the cost of going to college has been steadily climbing for decades. Tuition, mandatory student fees (which compel students to pay for a lot of … Continue reading “A Critical Look at Higher Education Spending”
RALEIGH – Intercollegiate Studies Institute Vice President for Programs Mike Ratliff uses a story about a University of Colorado student to discuss what he considers to be some of the problems with higher education today.
The student had originally intended to study engineering. However, some friends convinced him to change majors to communication studies in order to have more fun in college. When the student graduated, he found out that the only job he could gain were ones that required a high school degree. Even the military would only allow him to enter as an enlisted solider and not the officer training program.
March is the month sports fans refer to as “March Madness,” for good reason. The month is filled with conference basketball tournaments only to be followed by the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament, along with a scattering of other events along the way.
But the “main event,” so to speak, is the NCAA tournament. Sixty-four college basketball games over the course of three weeks are enough to wet any sports fan’s appetite.
The attention placed on those games is what makes college administrators giddy with excitement. To the college administrators of the 65 teams selected for the tournament, it means more visibility they hope will eventually turn into increased alumni contributions or a higher number of college applicants.
Yes, it’s fun to sit down on the couch with your favorite adult beverage in one hand, the remote control in the other and a bowl of chips in your lap and watch every game from the play-in game to the championship game. However, do we pay similar attention to the academic failings of today’s colleges and universities as we do college sports? Chances are few if any understand the true landscape of the American public university system and some of the problems that it currently faces.
RALEIGH – University, community college, and state budget office officials have spent part of the week lobbying state legislators for more funding for higher education, while arguing against proposed line-item budget cuts.
University of North Carolina President Molly Broad, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, and North Carolina A&T Chancellor James Renick have been among those making presentations to members of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. The presentations, including those made by representatives from the community college system, focused on the theme of making college more affordable while increasing funding for university and community colleges needs.
