And I'm a graduate!
"Mass. tightens control of 2-year colleges; State links funds to student success" by Peter Schworm | Globe Staff, July 03, 2012
In a major shake-up, lawmakers are tightening state control over community colleges, tying budgets to academic performance and giving education officials greater say over choosing and evaluating college presidents.
The wide-ranging policy changes, a chief goal of the Patrick administration and the business community, bring greater oversight to the 15-college system, long criticized for low graduation rates and a lack of uniform standards. The legislation will also extend to the college level the accountability movement that has reshaped K-12 education....
Related: Cutting Globe's Community College Classes
I may stop attending altogether.
Leaders of community colleges had resisted the effort, saying that they needed more funding far more than additional oversight and that low graduation rates provide a misleading picture of their success.
But supporters said the initiative, approved by the Legislature late last week, marked a clear break with the past by holding up the independently run schools to sharper scrutiny. Until now, the schools have enjoyed wide autonomy, with little state oversight on curriculums, fees, and leadership.
The plan comes with added financial support. The state will increase spending on the two-year schools by $11 million, including $5 million for a grant program focused on raising graduation rates and consolidating administrative tasks across campuses. Another $2.3 million will help schools develop job-training programs to meet changing workforce needs.
Really?
Then why is my local raising tuition fees while cutting $1 million dollars in spending?
I guess that means no more food bank as well as health center over there!
I don't even recognize the place anymore.
Holding the schools accountable for student performance, supporters say, should help spur change....
Have any bankers gone to jail?
The debate over community colleges intensified in recent weeks as the president of Roxbury Community College resigned amid allegations of underreported campus crime and financial missteps. For many, the controversy showed the need for greater state involvement....
One bad agenda-pushed apple spoils the whole bunch, huh?
See: Summer Recess
Community college get you a debit card, kiddo?
Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation, which lobbied for the changes, said the support of business leaders was critical to the bill’s quick passage, just five months after Patrick highlighted the issue in his State of the Commonwealth address.
Related: Patrick's State of the State Speech
Some industry leaders say they have struggled to fill jobs in some fast-growing technical fields....
Joseph LeBlanc — president of the Massachusetts Community College Council, a statewide union — said the state was wrong to demand better results without providing more resources. “There’s going to be more of a push for us to perform, but unless there’s a corresponding push for more funding, I don’t think it’s right,” he said.
He also voiced reservations about the goal of the changes, saying community colleges should be about more than job training and placement.
“They paranoid side of me feels we’re about to be turned into trade schools, where it’s all about jobs,” he said....
Related: Back-to-School Series: America's Economic Development System
And it's not even about jobs, it's about debt.
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I'm so glad I graduated so long ago.
"Fees on rise at state colleges in Mass." July 02, 2012
Students who attend most Massachusetts state universities will have to dig deeper in their wallets for the next academic year as schools increase annual fees.
Eight of the nine state universities have approved fee hikes averaging about 6 percent, a Globe review has found.
College affordability advocates say that the increases, which coincide with a 4.9 percent fee increase for campuses in the separate UMass system, will add to the financial burden on students from low-income families. University officials counter that a decline in state funding has left them with no other option to cover growing operational costs....
Sounds rather odd to me since I was told "education accounts will also get a big boost."
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I guess it's the carrot or the stick, kids.
Ever notice that state always has tens of millions each month to pay banks debt service and can dole out hundreds of millions of dollars a year to profitable corporations in tax credits and tax breaks, kids?
Hey, at least you are learning $omething.
