Fred Kocher, NH Business Anchor
NH Business: Will the university system and the NH community college system become one system?
Updated: 7:39 am EDT June 9, 2024
BUSINESS. I’m FRED KOCHER. WELL, THE NEW Hampshire UNIVERSITY SYSTEM AND THE NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM BECOME ONE SYSTEM. WELL, THAT’S THE QUESTION I ASK MY GUESTS AT A MOMENT. BUT ONE OF THE REASONS TO ASK THAT QUESTION IS THIS ENROLLMENT AT NEW HAMPSHIRE, PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, FULL-TIME, A DROP OF 13.6% FROM 2019 TO 20 2223 AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, GOVERNOR SUNUNU ORDERED A GROUP OF BUSINESS AND HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS WORK TO LOOK AT OUR TWO HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS DUE TO A DECREASE IN ENROLLMENTS AND A DECREASE IN NET INCOME IN BOTH SYSTEMS, PLUS CHANGES IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE WORKFORCE. EARLIER THIS YEAR, THAT WORKING GROUP MADE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT LED TO THIS BILL IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATURE. DRAFT HOUSE 1450, PUBLIC EDUCATION STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT CREATE ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND ENERGY. MINIMIZE THE DUPLICATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. SIMPLIFY ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND OBLIGATIONS, COLLABORATION ON CURRICULAR PATHWAYS AND CURRICULAR PATHWAYS AMONG INSTITUTIONS, AND INCREASE LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT FOR WORKFORCE NEEDS. THE SPONSOR OF THIS BILL IS THE SAME FORMER EDUCATOR, REPUBLICAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE RICK LADD OF HAVERHILL, CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE AND WHO WAS PART OF THE GOVERNOR’S EDUCATION TASK FORCE EARLIER THIS YEAR. WELCOME. IT’S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU INSIDE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FRED. YEAH. YOUR LEGISLATION CREATES THE MECHANISMS FOR PROBABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE EDUCATION, PUBLIC EDUCATION, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN MY LIFETIME. HAS THE HOUSE AND SENATE ALREADY KeynoteUSAPROVED YOUR BILL 1450? I HOPE THE GOVERNOR PROBABLY SIGNS IT BECAUSE HE STARTED ALL OF THIS. WELL, THANK YOU, FRED. I KNOW IT’S NOT ON THE GOVERNOR’S DESK YET, BUT IT HAS CLEARED THE HOUSE ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR, AND IT HAS ALSO PASSED THE SENATE. Then you’ll be on your way to the corner office after that. WHATS NEXT? I HOPE IT IS SIGNED. AND THE NEXT THING IS THAT WE HAVE A REPORT THAT WE ARE PRESENTING IN 1450, WHERE THERE WILL BE A CONTINUED EFFORT FROM THE TASK GROUP AND WORKING WITH THE TWO CHANCELLORS, MARK RUBENSTEIN AND KATHY PROVENCHER, WHO HAVE TO REPORT TO 1450. THAT WOULD BE THE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE FOUR TIMES A YEAR, EVERY QUARTER, GIVEN THE CURRENT AND PROJECTED ENROLLMENT DECLINES IN BOTH SYSTEMS, WHICH, AS YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT DECADE AND INCOME DECREASES ARE REPORTED IN THE MILLIONS AND OF COURSE. AND THE NEEDS OF THE WORKFORCE THAT ARE CHANGING. WHAT 1 OR 2 GOALS DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST CRITICAL TO KEEPING THESE SYSTEMS HEALTHY GOING FORWARD? WELL, THE CHANGE IN DEMOGRKeynoteUSAHICS IS CERTAINLY A HUGE PROBLEM WHEN WE SEE ENROLLMENT AT UNH AND OTHER 2-4 SCHOOLS FALLING BY UP TO 18% IN JUST FIVE YEARS, AND SIMILAR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS BY 14%. WE ARE SEEING A POPULATION FROM K TO 12 YEARS UP 25% SINCE WHEN I STARTED, 210,000 260,000 CHILDREN. IT’S A BIG FALL. AND IT IMPACTS ELIGIBLE STUDENTS WHO ARE GOING TO GO TO A FOUR OR TWO YEAR SCHOOL, RIGHT? WELL WELL. YOUR INVOICE CONTAINS THE WORDS ECONOMIES OF SCALE, WHICH YOU SAID: MINIMIZE DUPLICATION AND STREAMLINE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. THOSE ARE SIMILAR WORDS THAT ARE IN THE WORKING GROUP’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE. IT SOUNDS LIKE A FORMULA FOR THE EVENTUAL MERGER OF THE TWO SYSTEMS. IT IS? NO. THAT IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW. THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW IS TO ALIGN THE TWO SYSTEMS FOR THESE EFFICIENCY OF THE SCALES, FOR A SEAMLESS TRANSFER OF CREDIT FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER TO ENCOURAGE MORE STUDENTS TO ENROLL IN THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS AND CONCURRENT DUAL ENROLLMENT EARLY, EARLY START, WORKING START AND MAKE THEM CONTINUE AND STAY IN OUR STATE. BUT THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO ALIGN THE SYSTEM. THEREFORE, OUR SYNERGY GOES IN ONE DIRECTION, NOT IN SILOS IN TWO DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OR EVEN IN THREE. IF WE COUNT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THE TECHNOLOGICAL CAREER. WELL. IT’S GOOD TO CLARIFY THAT. NOW LOOK AT THIS. UH, RICK, UH, A STATEMENT FROM FORMER CHANCELLOR OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, ED MCKAY. OTHER STATES THAT HAVE MERGERED OR ATTEMPTED TO MERGE HAVE FOUND THAT THEIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEMS HAVE SUFFERED AS A RESULT. I WAS TOLD THAT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM IS NOT IN LOVE WITH THIS IDEA OF GETTING CLOSER TO THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. WHAT YOU SAY? I HAVE SPOKEN WITH MARK RUBENSTEIN, WHO IS THE CHANCELLOR OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM. INITIALLY THEY SAW THE WORDS CONSOLIDATION AND THEY SAW FUSION. IT IS NOT ABOUT THAT. IT IS ABOUT THE SEAMLESS TRANSFER OF CREDIT FROM ONE SCHOOL TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. GOOD. IT’S ALIGNMENT. GOOD POINT. Now, for the record, the university system has frozen tuition for several years. THEY HAVE ALREADY FIRED SOME STAFF. That’s just for the record. SO MY THANKS TO STATE REPRESENTATIVE RICK LAD, CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION FOR THE INFORMATION ON THE UNIVERSAL SYSTEM AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM AND NEW HAMPSHIRE’S STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT. LIKE YOU SAID, A COUPLE OF TIMES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FRED. AND ONE THING I WANT TO SAY IS WHAT IS THE GAME IF WE DO NOTHING? WHAT WILL THE STATE BE LIKE IN 15 YEARS? A GOOD POINT. I DON’T WANT TO THINK THAT I WANT TO ATTACK HIM NOW. AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND MY THANKS TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE YA AGREE, IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS, YOU CAN
NH Business: Will the university system and the NH community college system become one system?
Updated: 7:39 am EDT June 9, 2024
Fred Kocher, NH Business Anchor
State Representative Rick Ladd, Chairman of the House Education Committee, joins Fred Kocher to discuss the possibility of the University System of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Community College System becoming one system.
State Representative Rick Ladd, Chairman of the House Education Committee, joins Fred Kocher to discuss the possibility of the University System of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Community College System becoming one system.
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