THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040708
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
The State Council of Higher Education said Thursday that the restructuring plans of six colleges, including Norfolk State and Christopher Newport Universities, should be rejected next week because they aren't specific enough.
That event could place the schools in jeopardy of losing up to 6 percent of their state aid.
Gov. George F. Allen said in September that colleges whose plans don't meet muster could face budget cuts of 2 percent to 6 percent next year.
The state council, the middleman between the colleges and Allen's administration, suggested Thursday that all colleges be exempt from the cuts because of their efforts to improve their plans.
But state Education Secretary Beverly Sgro said, in a statement, that the colleges could still face cuts: ``The six colleges . . . are being considered works in progress and as such, their plans can be revised for future consideration. These six colleges will be subject to 2, 4 and 6 percent budget cuts until such time that the restructuring plans are accepted.''
Donald J. Finley, associate director of the council, said of the six schools: ``They have really come a long way in a short period of time. The second plans are much improved and impressive. But the fact is, these six institutions have started their process of restructuring later than the others.
``What they need is not a budget cut; they need time.''
The other schools whose plans didn't satisfy council officials were Longwood College, Mary Washington College, Radford University and Virginia State University.
The state council released its recommendations on the restructuring plans on Thursday.
The full council is expected to vote on them Tuesday, but Finley said the council will continue working with the schools throughout the year.
In written evaluations, the council said Norfolk State and Christopher Newport had made good revisions to the plans - the first versions were due on Sept. 1 - but they still needed improvement.
NSU's plan, the evaluation said, ``contains general promises of change and progress rather than descriptions of concrete steps it plans to take toward major restructuring . . . The university has yet to develop a cohesive restructuring plan.''
The council also complained that Norfolk State's goal of increasing its graduation rate by 20 percent in 10 years was insufficient. State figures show that 19 percent of freshmen graduate within seven years. That's the lowest rate among state-supported four-year schools. A 20 percent increase would raise that figure to about 23 percent.
NSU Vice President Jesse Lewis said a university team is working on a new draft of the restructuring plan, which will be submitted early next week. ``We expect to be approved very shortly because we've followed their directions,'' he said.
Newport's plan, the evaluation said, still lacks information about the ``financial benefits'' of some proposals and doesn't develop a strategy for ``faculty rewards.''
``Both of those institutions have made impressive progress,'' Finley said.
``Nevertheless, it is impossible to do in a month what it has taken others a year or more to do.''
The General Assembly, impatient with what it saw as colleges' resistance to streamlining, this year required them to submit restructuring plans this fall and next year. Under the law, if the plans don't win state approval, the colleges could lose 1.5 percent of their state aid. by CNB