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EDITORIAL: Two, But Together: Time to Reshape Relationship of N.C.'s Colleges, Universities

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jan. 25--New UNC system President Erskine Bowles has made one thing clear: He intends for the state's universities and community colleges to work more closely during his administration.

"We have to have a seamless relationship with the community colleges," Mr. Bowles said to the Board of Governors. "It makes good common sense."

That's nice, but what does it mean? It ought to mean constructing a unified system where planning, funding and governance mesh.

Words like "collaboration" and "partnership" get used a lot by public officials. That's because they imply efficiency, and everybody wants that. But it's also because connecting and leveraging resources is the only effective way to get at the hardest problems.

That's doubly true for North Carolina's system of higher education. The lines between the state's 58 community colleges and 16 universities are no longer clear-cut, as they were 40 years ago. Yet a fierce desire for autonomy has squelched any discussion of serious reform.

Mr. Bowles is smart enough to know that. So is Martin Lancaster, the president of the state's community colleges. They are also smart enough to know a full partnership will take more than a handshake and a cordial public relationship between the top leaders.

Here are some of the challenges:

-- Academic unity. Programs, curriculum and admission standards sometimes mesh, but often do not. An example: Community colleges have open enrollment; universities set selective admission standards.

-- Overlapping services. When a university and community college are in the same county or region, similar programs and services are often operated at both. The trick is to eliminate duplication without reducing access to citizens.

-- Planning. The state's higher education systems must target urgent problems jointly, not independently. Anything else is wasteful and counterproductive. An example: the current nursing and teacher shortages and regional economic development.

Each system does many things well. But North Carolina's successful transition from a textile, furniture and tobacco economy will rest largely on two factors: the ability to develop programs at universities that target emerging economies and the ability of both colleges and universities to constantly retrain workers. That can't happen under the status quo.

The higher education system of the future needs certain things.

-- A structure of governance that respects each institution's identity, yet sets policy for a unified system.

-- Programs designed jointly so that courses transfer automatically.

-- Distance learning that uses the Internet and video conferencing to link students at two-year colleges to four-year programs.

That's the kind of tough reform agenda Mr. Bowles and Mr. Lancaster ought to have in mind when they talk about greater collaboration in higher education.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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