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15-Jun-05
HIGHER EDUCATION
Should a college education be an entitlement; a free ride for every citizen? Are we steering students toward four-year degrees, when most of the available jobs require only a two-year degree? Why do so few of our college students complete college? These and other questions on this month's Louisiana Public Square which aired LIVE! on LPB and WLAE in New Orleans on Wednesday, June 15 at 7PM.
Among the special guests for this month’s episode were LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe, Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. E. Joseph Savoie, University of Louisiana System President Dr. Sally Clausen and Southern University Chancellor Dr. Edward Jackson.
As part of the program hosted by LPB President Beth Courtney, 20 citizens had a chance to question the higher education experts.
To gauge the effectiveness of the deliberative discussion, the participants were polled before and after the show by questions from the LSU Public Policy Research Lab at the Manship School of Mass Communication’s Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs to see if their opinions about topic have changed after getting their questions answered.
BACKGROUNDThe importance of high-quality public colleges and universities cannot be over-estimated. Communities need teachers, doctors, engineers, financial experts, lawyers, journalists, etc. Our democratic form of government needs well-educated citizens who can make informed judgments about important issues. There seems to be a correlation between a state’s economic vitality and its commitment to education, particularly higher education. According to Public Affairs Research Council [PAR] President Jim Brandt, the single most important thing Louisiana can do to improve its economy is to create a nationally-ranked research university. We are a long way from achieving that goal, which is one of many that need to be attained in order to improve Louisiana’s higher education system.
Louisiana’s enrollment structure is often cited as problematic. The state is behind much of the rest of the nation in the area of community colleges. Proponents of 2-year schools say that they are better suited to address the true needs of the workplace in Louisiana, where it is estimated that a majority of jobs will require only an associate degrees, certification or advanced training, and not a baccalaureate degree. Louisiana student enrollment in 4-year programs – which are more expensive to run - is much higher than the southern average. About 76% of Louisiana’s students are in 4-year institutions, as compared to about 56% for other southern states. Recent and planned increases in admission standards are likely to change the enrollment mix to look more like the rest of the nation, but opponents complain that the higher standards may cause some to give up plans for college altogether. Those in favor of higher standards say they will boost completion rates, and make the college experience a more satisfying and rewarding one for those pursuing either the 2-year or 4-year degree.
For many Louisiana’s students, college is not a positive undertaking. The state has the worst record in the south for college completion. Completion rates are calculated based on whether or not a student graduates from a 4-year program within a 6-year period [the period is 3 years for 2-year programs]. Only about one in three students graduate from Louisiana universities; less than one in ten complete their community college studies. The rates are lower, overall, for African American and other minority students, which presents a looming problem for the state.
Although Louisiana colleges have operated under a civil rights consent decree for over 30 years, some claim segregation continues based on educational achievement. Academically, minority high schools students tend to lag behind their white peers. A study by Achieve, Inc. indicated that nearly twice as many white student as African American students graduated high school “college ready”. This is borne out by similar college graduation rates [42% for whites; 28% for African Americans]. Education experts agree that narrowing the learning gap needs to be a high priority.College affordability is an on-going concern, especially for people with moderate- and low-income. Over the last 20 years, college costs have increased at about the same rate as high incomes – 6 to 7 percent. However, the increase relative to lower annual incomes has been from 61 to 106 percent, according to the SREB.
Some look upon the pursuit of a post-secondary degree as an entitlement which should not be impeded by one’s financial status. Those opposed to increasing tuition cite the cost of going to college as a barrier to higher education. They also worry about the impact of higher costs on the state’s Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), which is currently paying out $ 117 million in year in scholarships. About 40,000 students benefit from TOPS, which is merit –not income – based. Increased tuitions would add about $9.5 million to the program, which is already strapped for funding.Proponents of greater flexibility in tuition hikes say they are needed in order to make Louisiana colleges and universities more competitive nationally. Those in favor of allowing higher education institutions to increase tuition point to Louisiana’s below-average college costs, when compared to other Southern states. Only four states in our region have lower 4-year in-state tuition than Louisiana. According to the SREB, Louisiana is dead last out of sixteen states in total public funding per full-time student, and second-to-last in tuition and fees revenue per full-time student.
Proponents also point out that many students and parents are not taking full advantage of existing financial aid opportunities. According to the American Council on Education, nationally, fourteen percent of dependent and seventeen percent of independent low-income, full-time college students did not apply for federal student financial aid. Many of these students mistakenly believed that they did not qualify, or that they had missed deadlines.
Some education experts feel Louisiana must have a new master plan for higher education that better meets the state’s needs. Among the recommendation:• Set mandatory admissions standards for all colleges and universities to ensure higher rates of student success
• Return control of tuition levels to Louisiana’s four higher education management boards
• Commit to make LSU nationally competitive by providing funding levels comparable to the country’s leading public research universities.
URLs to check out:
Southern University and A&M College
University of Louisiana System
Grambling State University
Louisiana Tech University
McNeese State University
Nicholls State University
Northwestern State University
Southeastern Louisiana University
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Louisiana State University System
Dr. Sally Clausen
University of Louisiana System PresidentDr. Sally Clausen has served as Commissioner of Higher Education, Secretary of Education for the Office of the Governor, President of Southeastern Louisiana University, and President of the University of Louisiana System, a position she assumed in July 2001. The UL System has eight universities under its governance: Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Louisiana Lafayette, and University of Louisiana Monroe. Those eight universities serve over 84,000 students, with a total annual operating budget of approximately $800 million.
In addition to her leadership in Louisiana, Dr. Clausen is an active participant in higher education policy at the national level. She serves as Vice President of the National Association of University System Heads and on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Additionally, Dr. Clausen is a participant in The College Board’s Center for Innovative Thought, the mission of which is to develop “courses of action on matters that would enhance national educational wellbeing.” She is a member of the Board of Directors of Neogenix Oncology Corp., a private biotechnology company that has developed techniques for the earlier diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer and other malignancies.
In a review of Dr. Clausen’s presidency at Southeastern Louisiana University, an independent consultant, Dr. John Moore, President Emeritus-Indiana State University, noted that “…perhaps less than one-percent of (university) presidents being reviewed could enjoy such an extremely positive review as has President Clausen.” In a recent book commissioned by the American Council on Education, entitled The Entrepreneurial College President, Dr. Clausen was mentioned as one whose leadership had positively transformed a college campus. Of the 713 University Presidents/Chancellors reviewed, she was one of only 17 profiled as an entrepreneurial President. Dr. James Fisher, co-author of the book, reported the following: “In a time when chief executive officers of higher education systems are frequently criticized as inept, Sally Clausen has established the model for competence and achievement in that arena.”
Dr. Clausen is active in Special Olympics and First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge. In 2004 she was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction.
Dr. Edward Jackson ,
Southern University Chancellor
Dr. Edward R. Jackson was named the seventh chancellor of the Southern University-Baton Rouge campus in January, 1988 by the Southern University Board of Supervisors. Dr. Jackson, a New Iberia, Louisiana native who graduated from Jonas Henderson High School, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1965. He earned a master of arts in Political Science from Marquette University in 1965 and a doctor of philosophy in Political Science from the University of Iowa in 1968. He came to Southern University in 1968 as an assistant professor and later was acting department chair. Other teaching jobs included positions at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Howard University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He served as vice provost and vice president of academic affairs at South Carolina State.At Southern, Jackson also served as dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and prior to being named chancellor, he was executive vice president and provost for the Southern University System. He has also worked as the project director for the National Science Foundation’s Undergraduate Research Participation Program and as an administration officer in the Administration and Support Directorate for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Dr. Jackson has won honorable mention in the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Competition; was awarded a research assistantship at Marquette University; a teaching assistantship at the University of Iowa, and a National Science Foundation Teaching Fellowship at Kalamazoo College. He has had articles published in several professional journals. And, while at South Carolina State, Dr. Jackson developed the first permanent office of Institutional Self-Study, chaired the effort which resulted in the establishment of the University’s first Honors Program, and designed and implemented the University’s Institutional Assessment Program.
Dr. Jackson is married to Nedra Clem Jackson, a local physician, and they have two children, Camy and Edward. R., II. He has three other adult sons, Robert, Corey and Chris.
Sean O’Keefe,
Louisiana State University Chancellor
Appointed Secretary of the Navy in July 1992 by President George Bush, O'Keefe served as Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Defense since 1989. Before joining then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney's Pentagon management team in these capacities, he served on the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations staff for eight years and was Staff Director of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. His public service began in 1978 upon his selection as a Presidential Management Intern. Chancellor Sean O'Keefe is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a Fellow of the International Academy of Astronautics, and member of the Naval Postgraduate School Board of Advisors. During his academic postings, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Wolfson College of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, a member of the Naval Postgraduate School's civil-military relations seminar team, and conducted seminars for the Strategic Studies Group at Oxford University. He served on the national security panel to devise the 1988 Republican platform and was a member of the 1985 Kennedy School of Government program for national security executives at Harvard University.In 1993, President Bush and Secretary Cheney presented him the Distinguished Public Service Award. He was the 1999 faculty recipient of the Syracuse University Chancellor's Award for Public Service; recipient of the Department of the Navy's Public Service Award in December 2000; and has been awarded five honorary doctorate degrees from several prestigious educational institutions. In 2003 and 2004, he was recognized and honored by the Irish American Magazine as one of the Top 100 Irish Americans.
He is the author of several journal articles and contributing author of Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future released in October 2000. In 1998, he co-authored The Defense Industry in the Post-Cold War Era: Corporate Strategies and Public Policy Perspectives .
He is married to Laura McCarthy O’Keefe, and they have three children – Lindsey, Jonathan, and Kevin.
Dr. E. Joseph Savoie ,
Commissioner of Higher Education
Panelist
Dr. Joseph Savoie serves as Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Louisiana, a position he has held since 1996. He has served higher education in Louisiana for over two decades. Prior to becoming Commissioner, he held various positions as a campus administrator and faculty member.
Dr. Savoie has played a significant role in the major postsecondary education reform initiatives now taking place in Louisiana, including the restructuring of higher education governance, the creation of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, teacher education reform initiatives, a new state Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education, and the promotion of collaboration and cooperation within the entire education community. Under his leadership, financial support for public postsecondary education has increased significantly.
Dr. Savoie holds a Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership/Administration) from Columbia University’s Teachers College. He received both his Master’s of Education (Educational Administration) and a Bachelor of Arts/Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
He is active in several church, community and professional organizations. As Commissioner of Higher Education, he serves on a variety of educational commissions and committees.
Some questions and comments may be included in the program.
