FARGO, N.D. (AP) - The North Dakota Board of Higher Education’s strategic plan in October 2014 was touted as a “bold new direction” for the state university system, meant to take advantage of prosperity created by high oil and crop prices to give students a competitive edge.
“This is the time to gather all of the hopes and dreams that we’ve had for our colleges and universities and turn them into reality,” the document read.
Some two years later, the reality is this: Schools are looking at substantial cuts in staff and programs, there’s no money to fix dilapidated buildings, professors are worried about their job security and the university system chancellor says it’s “probably the biggest shock to the system” since the 1930s.
New Gov. Doug Burgum says it’s a good time to embrace a new approach.
“It’s not really my job to comment on whether the money has been spent wisely in the past because I wasn’t part of those appropriations line by line,” Burgum told The Associated Press Friday. “What I do know … is that organizations that are going to do well in a time of rapid change are those that are nimble, that are flexible, that are agile, that have great listening systems, that understand technology.”
Burgum believes the state’s 11 colleges and universities can deliver knowledge more affordably. He pointed out that a student can now earn an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that requires only minimal attendance on campus in Boston. The rest of the work is done remotely.
Burgum’s budget includes no money for capital projects, which fits with his notion that the schools should be able to function with existing infrastructure. While the image of a college has traditionally been a place with a library, buildings and faculty offices, the governor said the reason for having a physical location doesn’t exist anymore.
One way that college buildings do work, Burgum said, is putting them in places where they spur other development. He noted that North Dakota State University’s two downtown campus buildings have become an “economic catalyst” for other private investment and driven up the tax base. Conversely, he said the economic impact of the new University of North Dakota medical school in Grand Forks is diminished by the fact that it’s built next to a hockey arena and cemetery.
“We can’t spend our dollars in isolation, we have to spend them where they create additional dollars,” Burgum said.
Chancellor Mark Hagerott noted that the university system last year rolled out a long-term plan called Envision 2030, which covers topics ranging from redefining what it means to be a traditional student, increasing collaboration and shared services, and changing course delivery methods like Burgum is promoting.
“Some of our campuses have heard what the governor is saying,” Hagerott said. “Other campuses, to be frank, are not doing as much online.”
In the meantime, university system officials are wrestling with ways to meet current budget demands. One idea would give presidents the option of laying off tenured professors with just a three-month notice - rather than the current one-year period - if programs are cut. Faculty representatives from the 11 colleges and universities spent two hours at last month’s board meeting testifying against the plan, which has not been voted on by the board.
Funding for higher education grew from about $659 million for the 2011-13 budget sequence to a record of about $911 million for 2013-15. Burgum is proposing a $613 million higher education budget for 2017-19.
“There are a lot of positive things that are going on and it’s an important part of our state,” Burgum said of higher education. “But we aren’t going to be successful in the future unless we face the fact there are some really fundamental changes coming in education, particularly in the area of knowledge transfer.”
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