BOG discusses five-year strategic plan, finances and on-line schooling program
The UNC Board of Governors met Thursday for the first time this semester and discussed the UNC system’s five-year strategic plan, which is in its final year.
Peter Hans, President of the UNC system, suggested that the BOG should revise and expand the plan’s framework, preserving the original basis and adjusting where necessary.
The board also discussed the recently proposed funding model and Project Kitty Hawk, an online learning initiative for working adults.
what’s new
- The UNC system’s five-year plan, which has been in effect since 2017, is coming to an end this year.
- The plan’s current core goals are Access, Affordability and Efficiency, Student Success, Economic Impact and Community Involvement, and Institutional Excellence and Diverse.
- Proposed changes to the plan include accounting for on-time graduation, new ways to manage student debt and life outcomes for graduates, goals related to student mental health and well-being, and new opportunities for adult learners and veterans.
- “When I talk to students and families about what they want out of college, I don’t really hear much about revolutionary transformation,” said Hans. “I hear about affordability, making sure the right courses are available at the right time, and combining their degree with a promising career. The basics, the basics. Again, I think that’s what made (the current) plan such a success, we’re delivering on those core promises.”
- J. Alex Mitchell, vice chair of the BOG Committee on Budget and Finance, provided an updated report including the fiscal year 2022 budget, study proposals for 2022-23 and sports fees, and proposed changes to the funding model.
- The Budget and Finance Committee held a special meeting on Jan. 18 to discuss proposed changes to the funding model. System Bureau staff is gathering campus feedback to refine the proposal, and the final vote is expected at the BOG meeting in February.
- On January 19, the committee held its regular meeting, during which it discussed a preview of the 2022-23 study proposals, which will also be voted on in February.
- College Governance Committee Chair David Powers provided an update on Project Kitty Hawk, an online initiative designed to help more working adults graduate from college.
- The Budget and Finance Committee proposed that the authority to set the program’s tuition be delegated to the Project Kitty Hawk Board of Directors.
- To meet budget allocation goals, Project Kitty Hawk programs must be established and begin enrolling students on a timeline that is more flexible than the traditional academic calendar, Mitchell said. This policy will be voted on at the February meeting.
- In the 2021 Budget, the General Assembly called for the formation of a non-profit organization to develop the programs necessary to meet the unique needs of adult learners – leading to the creation of Project Kitty Hawk.
- “In the 2021 Budget, the General Assembly has asked us to create such a nonprofit organization with $97 million and a one-time funding,” said Carolyn Coward, chair of the BOG Strategic Initiatives Committee. “The funding will be used to support Project Kitty Hawk, a nonprofit ed-tech start-up affiliated with the UNC system that will support universities in their efforts to build innovative and online degree programs.”
- The board also shares that it recently approved a new laboratory school, Appalachian State Academy in Elkin, for grades two through four. The Laboratory School is one of nine falling under the UNC System Laboratory School Initiative, also established by the NC General Assembly.
- In addition, the Board recently approved five new programs and the discontinuation and consolidation of two programs.
- The UNC Press Board of Governors has two partial vacancies, with one term ending June 30, 2024 and one ending June 30, 2026.
- This group is responsible for directing the work of UNC Press, a not-for-profit publisher tasked with disseminating scholarly and general works from the UNC system.
- The board nominated Osamudia James, a professor at the UNC School of Law, to fill the partially vacant position through June 30, 2026, and Angela K. Miles, associate professor and chair of business administration at North Carolina Central University to fill the Position to be filled ending June 30th, 2024.
- The BOG unanimously approved the new appointments.
What’s next?
- The BOG will meet again on February 23-24 to vote on the proposed funding model, 2022-23 tuition, Project Kitty Hawk policies and more.
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