UA’s 2010 COMMISSION RELEASES SECOND REPORT: PICKING UP THE PACE

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - PICKING UP THE PACE, the second report of the University of Arkansas 2010 Commission, was released at 10:45 a.m., Tuesday, March 2, during a news conference at the Department of Higher Education, 114 East Capitol Avenue, third floor conference room.

The 2010 Commission, a group of more than 90 business, education and government professionals, was created to obtain widespread participation in developing a plan for the University of Arkansas for the first decade of the 21^st century—a plan to help bring Arkansas to greater economic and educational strength nationally.

The 2010 Commission’s first report, MAKING THE CASE, was published in August 2001. PICKING UP THE PACE measures the progress made since the publication of MAKING THE CASE and describes the current context and the course ahead for the University of Arkansas and the state.

Major findings of the report include:

• State appropriations have not kept pace with either higher education inflation or with projections based on research in the first report of the 2010 Commission, MAKING THE CASE. The lag in state appropriations has led directly to greater-than-projected increases in tuition.
• Tuition revenues at the U of A are in line with Commission projections and partially offset both state appropriation shortfalls and slower-than- expected enrollment growth. However, total enrollment is less than what the 2010 Commission suggested would be ideal at this time, if the university is to reach its 2010 goal of 22,500 students.
• Per capita state funding of higher education, when considered against other states’ per capita funding, is nationally competitive, but is diluted by the number of state-supported institutions, 43 in all. The 2010 Commission suggests priority should be given to increasing state funding at Arkansas’ research universities.
• Arkansas ranks 10^th in the nation in the number of postsecondary institutions per capita. Every Arkansan is within a 45-mile radius of a four-year, two-year or branch institution. The average linear distance for an Arkansas resident to the nearest state-supported higher education institution is 9.5 miles.
• Nationally, 13 percent of community college students progress to a bachelor's degree; in Arkansas, only 3 percent do so. Arkansas’ two-year institutions, when compared to other two-year colleges nationally, lag behind in the percentage of students who complete a four-year degree within six years of beginning study at a two-year college. The Commission recommends the adoption of scholarship programs encouraging community college graduates to complete the bachelor's degree.
• Despite the fiscal challenges of the past two years, the University of Arkansas has made substantial progress toward improving its academic quality and increasing the quality of its student body. The university enrolls more students than ever before and is graduating a record number of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students.
• Private support of the University of Arkansas has been outstanding. Private support the past six years averaged more than $117 million per year and exceeded the total received over the past 106 years.
• The Commission endorsed the UA goals and the UA vision to become a nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world. However, the Commission felt that the state, Arkansas industry, and the UA community must "pick up the pace" for the goals to be achieved and the vision to be realized by 2010.

The 68-page report includes a listing of the membership of the commission, statistical comparisons of 54 public universities and Arkansas’ ranking among them, and a more-detailed comparison of the state of Arkansas with a group of states identified as the "Peer 7." This group of seven states provides a useful contrast to Arkansas. The rationale for the selections is fully explained on page 31 of the final report.

The report also offers statistical information on the likely relative earnings of college graduates versus those who do not attain college graduation and a comprehensive listing by classification of Arkansas’ public colleges and universities. The direct observations of 2010 members, industry and governmental leaders, and college and university chancellors around the nation regarding the work of the 2010 Commission are also included in the report.

Finally, the report offers a statistical interpretation of the university’s progress in a year-by-year report card; see page 13.

Atty. Gen. Mike Beebe will represent the 2010 Commission at the press conference. He and Chancellor John White will speak briefly at the news conference and will be available to take questions about the report. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Bob Smith, who served as executive secretary for the 2010 Commission, also will be on hand for comment, as will some members of the 2010 Commission.