
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994                   TAG: 9412130087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

PANEL GIVES COUNCIL ON COLLEGES GOOD MARKS

The State Council of Higher Education needs to gauge the productivity of college programs better and shut down those that don't measure up, a legislative commission was warned on Monday.

But that was the only major complaint the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission staff had about the agency that oversees Virginia's state-supported colleges.

JLARC reports often are scathing, but the state council received passing grades on 15 of 16 activities evaluated by the commission's staff.

``This is unusual in that it's a fairly positive report on an agency,'' said Philip Leone, director of JLARC.

That was welcome news to council director Gordon Davies, who said the panel's job of providing direction for the state's colleges and trying to accurately project enrollment is a difficult one.

``Our work has been described as being like herding cats,'' Davies said.

The JLARC study criticized the higher education council for closing only five of 99 programs cited as ``nonproductive'' since 1987. Productivity is measured mostly by the number of degrees conferred and majors enrolled.

Davies said that over the long haul, the council has done a better job dealing with nonproductive programs than the study suggests.

``In 17 years, we've started 415 programs and closed 515 programs,'' Davies said.

The figures surprised Leone, who said he had not heard those numbers mentioned while the study was being conducted.

JLARC said the council should work with colleges to close, merge or modify nonproductive programs. Much of that work already is being done in state-mandated restructuring plans submitted by the colleges. Six plans still have not been approved by the council and Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro, but four will be on the council's agenda today.

The commission also said the council needs authority to measure productivity based on programs' quality. It suggested the General Assembly consider giving the council that authority.

by CNB