Reporter Volume 25, No.9 October 28, 19930

By ANN WHITCHER
Reporter Editor

Concluding that New York State's "higher education asset is eroding,"
the Regents Commission on Higher Education in a report, "Sharing the
Challenge,"  called for a major restructuring of the manner in which
New York delivers and supports higher education.
	As for the State's public higher education system (SUNY and
CUNY), the commission urges increased collaboration and sharing of
resources; institutional mission statements "used in a rigorous way"
to formulate long-range plans; and attention to changing work force
needs in shaping curriculum and academic programs.
	"The Commission envisions a time when the State's entire
system will collectively become a 'virtual university,' the report,
issued Sept. 23, states, "composed of individual institutions each
with its own mission but participating fully in a statewide learning
community without boundaries in space or time."
	Also recommended are resources to CUNY and SUNY "to maintain
quality by increasing the percentage of full-time faculty, stabilizing
student/faculty ratios and providing a needed supply of courses and
course selections to permit students to complete course requirements
on schedule, among other teaching needs.
	"A combination of additional State funding, tuition income,
and reallocations of existing resources, will be essential to attain
the support necessary," the report states.
	The Regents Commission calls on state leaders to maintain
campus physical facilities; eliminate "arbitrary barriers" to
students' movement through the system as transfers, and the harnessing
of new technologies for learning, instruction, libraries and research.
	"To realize the full potential of the new technologies," says
the Commission, "the State should help assure that all faculty and
students have 'desktop' access to networked computing power and
powerful but easy-to-use software tools. 
	"To take advantage of the new technologies to help achieve
improvements in teaching and learning, institutions should do what is
necessary to restructure their organization, curriculum, graduation
requirements and infrastructure."
	The report notes UB's membership in the Association of
American Universities, and enhanced research opportunities made
possible by the Graduate Research Initiative, proposed by Gov. Cuomo
and legislatively funded in 1987 "to accelerate the development of
doctoral education and research in the two systems." 
	In presenting the Commission's final report to the Regents,
Commission Chair Victor J. Riley Jr. urged higher education and the
State to provide the leadership for the restructuring.
	"For colleges and universities, this means thoughtful
redirection of current resources to new and more cost-effective ways
of reaching their goals," Riley said. "Above all higher education must
embark on a path that will demonstrate to the public and to the State
that it is committed to significant change while preserving the best
of its traditional roles."
	For the State, too, said Riley, "there are difficult choices,"
Riley continued. "To preserve the investment already made and to
receive its returns in the years ahead, the State along with local
governments must make the choice to provide the resources necessary to
enable higher education to serve New York into the 21st century." The
report takes note of current fiscal constraints in the State, along
with social factors affecting the amount of money now available to
education.
	It adds: "The Commission has no doubt that further (budget)
cuts would produce additional serious damage to both quality and
accessibility in these (public) institutions. There is no doubt,
either, that additional funds will need to be provided through tuition
adjustments, more aggressive fund-raising in many institutions, and
reallocation efforts by the institutions themselves, as well as
additional State appropriations." 
	The 48-page report, "Higher Education, New York's Opportunity
Industry: Sharing the Challenge," includes 35 recommendations
concerning nearly every aspect of higher education delivery and
support.
	Other commission recommendations include:
	n Grant public institutions greater independent authority to
operate their campuses
	n Greater accountability at individual campuses for the
stewardship of resources under their control
	n Re-thinking at public and private institutions about
curriculum, process, organizational structures and the mix of
technology and personnel 
	New York's established goal of "Quality and Access With
Choice," the report states, must include an equal commitment to "Cost
Effectiveness," the report states.
	The Commission found that the diverse nature of New York's
system of higher education provides its fundamental strength, Riley
told the Regents. "Though comprised of a variety of public,
independent and degree-granting proprietary colleges and universities,
it is, a system of interrelated parts which complement each other. The
Commission emphasizes the value of this total network of diverse
institutions."