THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By LYNN HOPEWELL
LENGTH: 64 lines
The assertions of editorial writer Margaret Edds' Sept. 8 column (``Opposition to Davies, defender of higher education, is misguided'') about the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, which attempted to portray the volunteer members of the council as part of political factioning, are not accurate.
The State Council for Higher Education in Virginia was created by the General Assembly to be a group of 11 volunteer citizens who would dedicate their time and talent to help manage Virginia's system of higher education. All of the members were appointed by Governor Allen. The council employs an outstanding professional staff lead by Gordon Davies.
One of the major responsibilities of the council is to approve enrollment projections of the colleges and universities for use by the General Assembly. This task is critical because building and capital projects that are funded by the state through state-backed bonds are allocated on the basis of future enrollment at each of the schools.
College enrollment projections are difficult to predict, and their accuracy has varied over the years. When a few percentage points in enrollment can mean millions of dollars in taxpayer money, it is important that accurate enrollment projections be used so as to ensure that each school receives its share of limited resources.
Much has been made of the fact that the Department of Planning and Budget has been involved in evaluating the enrollment projections. DPB's involvement is a wise use of state resources: The very purpose of the department is to provide projections and analysis for the commonwealth's $34 billion biennial budget. But the wisdom of seeking DPB's expertise cannot be claimed by the council. The General Assembly mandated in the Code of Virginia that DPB be involved in SCHEV's forecasting. Thus, DPB's participation is hardly an expression of lack of confidence in the council's staff. SCHEV will continually refine the formulas and methods of enrollment projection so as to provide the best information possible to the Generaly Assembly.
Further, the council is responsible for managing the two-year $7 billion higher education budget and for establishing policy in a multitude of areas all of which are rapidly evolving as the information age and the 21st century approach. It was determined that meeting for approximately three hours once a month was not enough time to fully address the increasingly complex issues on which the council was to establish policy. In order to examine the issues in more depth, the council decided to organize itself into committees.
Though none of the committees can make policy decisions independently, the committees will allow more in-depth exploration of specific issues. Thus, the council can better fulfill its fiduciary duties of Virginia's taxpayers to formulate the best policy on the various issues facing Virginia's colleges and universities. The committees' work will be reported to the full council, which will use the information to make a more-informed decision when voting on these issues. The council is now organized the same way that boards and commissions all across America are organized, including similar councils in other states.
The council members and staff are committed to the academic and financial well-being of Virginia's public colleges and universities. The council believes that each school should receive the resources it needs to fulfill its mission of educating Virginia's students while also holding the line on tuition so that all of Virginia's qualified students may have access to its excellent system of higher education. Our eyes are now on determining how Virginia's higher-education system should adapt to the challenges of the 21st century. To that end, with its new committee structure, the council will be working harder and smarter. by CNB