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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Oklahoma higher education needs more funding to meet completion goals, chancellor says
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">BY SILAS ALLEN The Oklahoman 12/20/2012<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">EDMOND — Oklahoma is making steady progress toward college completion goals but will need more funding to stay on track, the state’s higher education chief said Wednesday. Oklahoma Higher
Education Chancellor Glen Johnson told a group of state legislators, congressional aides and others that the college completion initiative has support at every public college and university campus in the state. “It requires the support of every regent body
and every president, and it has that,” Johnson said. “We’re committed to this initiative.” Johnson laid out the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education’s legislative agenda for the upcoming session during a forum Wednesday at the University of Central Oklahoma.
At the center of that agenda is a request that includes a budget increase of $90.4 million, or about 9.47 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of the funding increase would be related to the college completion goals, according to the appropriations request. The largest share — $55 million — would offset costs brought on
by enrollment increases. The state’s college completion goals will make up the largest part of the agency’s legislative agenda next year, Johnson said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has called for a 67 percent increase in college degrees and certificates earned in Oklahoma by 2023. Higher education officials announced in September the state
had surpassed its goal during the 2011-12 academic year. The state’s public colleges and universities produced an additional 1,934 degrees and certificates last year compared to the year before, topping the goal of 1,700 degrees and certificates for all public
and private colleges and universities as well as CareerTech centers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">But Johnson said the state likely wouldn’t be able to continue on that pace with flat or declining budgets. The budget has been reduced by 8.4 percent over the past five years. Johnson
said this year’s budget request of $1.046 billion would still place the system behind the $1.05 billion funding level of 2008. “We have commitment,” Johnson said. “It certainly will require more funding.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">UCO President Don Betz said the university supports the system’s college completion goals. As a metropolitan university, UCO is in a strong position to contribute to that effort, he said.
“We share the regents’ commitment to broadening the path to a college degree for our citizens through innovation and collaboration,” Betz said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Okla. higher education to focus on more graduates<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">By Associated Press The Journal Record 12/20/2012<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">EDMOND (AP) – Oklahoma universities and colleges need to increase their graduation rates, and additional funding from the state would help them do that, the State Regents for Higher Education
chancellor said Wednesday. The regents recently voted to request $90.4 million in new state appropriations during the upcoming legislative session. The total budget request for fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1, is $1.05 billion, a 9.47-percent increase
over the current year’s appropriation. “We believe that our budget request makes a very persuasive case for our policy leaders to further invest in higher education,” Chancellor Glen Johnson said at a meeting of lawmakers, community leaders and educators at
the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. “These funds would assist our institutions in achieving our Complete College America degree completion goals and will help to ensure student access and success in college.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The regents’ funding request includes $55 million for the Complete College America performance program, which would include additional course sections, full-time faculty members, financial
aid, information technology equipment and library resources. The regents are also requesting $7.5 million to fund a grant program that will enhance higher education institutions’ efforts to provide students guidance in completion of their degrees. Funding
would be directed to special services in career counseling, advisement, financial aid and efficiency in degree attainment. The funding proposal also includes $7.5 million for a program to provide students with career counseling, advisement and financial aid.
An additional $2.5 million is proposed for the concurrent enrollment program, which allows high school juniors and seniors to take college courses and earn credit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Monotype Corsiva";color:#1F497D">Linda Mason, Ed.D.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Coordinator of Grant Writing
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">655 Research Parkway, Suite 200<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Oklahoma City, OK 73104<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">405-225-9486 desk<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">405-706-8757 cell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">405-225-9230 FAX<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">lmason@osrhe.edu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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