Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2003

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
COMMITTEE:	Higher and Professional Education
TITLE OF ITEM:	Statewide Plan for Higher Education � Components of the "Call" Bulletin
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	April 16, 2003
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Approval
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	To seek Regents approval of the Elements of a Highly Effective Higher Education System and the Regents Priorities for the Higher Education System for incorporation into the Bulletin of the Statewide Plan for Higher Education, 2004 -2012
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1,2, 3, and 4
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

This is the next stage in the drafting of the Statewide Plan for Higher Education. This document will be the basis for the call bulletin that will be sent to the field at the beginning of May 2003.

 

Every eight years, the Board of Regents, in collaboration with the higher education community, develops and adopts the Statewide Plan for Higher Education, setting goals and objectives for New York�s coordinated system of higher education. The Statewide Plan focuses on major issues affecting the role of higher education in New York State and its service to its residents, workforce, and community. Regents priorities for higher education serve as the foundation for the Plan, which includes the long-range master plans of the State University of New York (SUNY), The City University of New York (CUNY), and New York�s independent and proprietary institutions of higher education. Last month, the Regents Committee on Higher and Professional Education reviewed the Elements of a Highly Effective Higher Education System and the draft statements of the Regents Priorities for the Higher Education System.

 

The 2004-2012 Statewide Plan will create strong linkages between the Regents priorities identified for the Plan and individual college and university master plans. The goal is to assure that the Regents priorities are relevant to higher education operations and become a focal point for the individual institutions in developing and implementing their master plans. Over the Plan�s duration, the Regents will develop initiatives to assist in its implementation. The Commissioner�s Advisory Council on Higher Education will discuss the Plan�s implementation periodically during its regular meetings.

 

We have revised the draft statements of the Elements of a Highly Effective Higher Education System and of the Regents Priorities for the Higher Education System based on the Committee�s discussion in March, as follows. In the attached draft, these revisions are highlighted.

 

• Added references to research and to consortia in the Elements of a Highly Effective Higher Education System;

 

• Added some brief examples of the Highly Effective Higher Education System identifying some of the outstanding elements of the sectors/institutions;

 

• Reordered the Regents Priorities;

 

• Added key words to each priority statement to highlight the focus; and

 

• Incorporated material on the following topics into the Regents Priorities statements:

 

• faculty diversity;

• collaboration between education faculty and arts and sciences faculty;
• transparency of information for students;

• interinstitutional cooperation;

• transfers, and student transitions from undergraduate to graduate education; and

• research to aid the development of policy by New York State government.

 

The material the Committee reviewed in March has been sent to the Commissioner�s Advisory Council. We have incorporated some suggestions provided by the sector leaders into the attached draft (also highlighted) and we will provide you with any additional comments we may receive from the members of the Advisory Council.

 

The revised material is attached for the Committee�s review and for approval so that it may be incorporated into the Bulletin of the Statewide Plan for Higher Education, 2004 � 2012 that the Commissioner will send to all colleges and universities on May 1, 2003, as guidance for the development of their master plans. The master plans will be transmitted to the Department in the spring of 2004. The Board of Regents will adopt the overall Statewide Plan for Higher Education, including the master plans of colleges and universities and the Regents initiatives, in the fall of 2004.

 

I recommend that the Regents take the following action:

 

VOTED, That the Regents approve the statements of "Elements of a Highly Effective Higher Education System" and "Regents Priorities for the Higher Education System," effective April 29, 2003, subject to editorial revision, and authorize their incorporation into The Bulletin of the Statewide Plan for Higher Education, 2004 � 2012.

 

Attachment

 

D R A F T

 

Components of

The Bulletin of the Statewide Plan for Higher Education

 

The University of the State of New York

The State Education Department

Office of Higher Education

April 2003

 

Table of Contents

 

Page

Introduction 3

Regents Statewide Plan for Higher Education 3

New York�s Commitment 4

Elements of a Highly Effective Higher Education System 4

Examples of New York�s Highly Effective Higher Education System 5

Regents Priorities for the Higher Education System 6

I. Maximizing Success for all Higher Education Students 7

II. Smooth Student Transition from PreK �12 to Higher Education 9

III. Strong Graduate Education to Meet the State�s Needs 10

IV. Creation of New Knowledge through Research 11

V. Qualified Professionals for Every Community throughout the State 12

VI. Qualified Teachers, Leaders, and Other School Professionals for

       New York�s Schools 13

VII. A Balanced and Flexible Regulatory Environment to Support

Excellence 14

INTRODUCTION

New York State has a highly effective higher education system of public, independent, and proprietary colleges and universities. To coordinate that system, every eight years, the Board of Regents, in collaboration with the higher education community, develops and adopts the Statewide Plan for Higher Education, setting system goals and objectives. The Statewide Plan focuses on major issues affecting the role of higher education in the State and its service to the State�s residents, work force, and community. Regents priorities for higher education serve as the foundation for the Plan, which includes the long-range master plans of the State University of New York (SUNY), The City University of New York (CUNY), and New York�s independent and proprietary higher education institutions.

Section 237 of the Education Law establishes the purposes of master planning and the Regents role in that process. The Regents are required to create a master plan for higher education. This plan is called the "Statewide Plan for Higher Education." Section 237 defines the "purposes of planning" as follows:

Master planning for higher education in New York State should

NEW YORK�S COMMITMENT

New York State is a world leader in education. Working together in a highly effective higher education system, the State�s colleges and universities - public, independent, and proprietary - will demonstrate even greater leadership during the first decades of the 21^st Century to continue to advance the educational and economic needs of the State and its people.

ELEMENTS OF A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

Consistent with their missions, all higher education institutions in New York State:

• avidly pursue knowledge related to their missions, through research where appropriate, and share that knowledge with other institutions and individuals wishing to learn;
• give students the ability, through quality education, to develop ethical, intellectual and social values; effectively contribute to society and the workplace; and engage in lifelong learning;
• admit all qualified applicants within the institution�s resource capability to offer them a quality education, provide adequate financial assistance to ensure access and affordability to all applicants, and assist enrolled students to succeed in their studies;
• cooperate with other higher education institutions, individually and in consortia, in sharing resources for an efficient and cost-effective system, and by avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort by students in their progress toward a degree;
• collaborate with elementary and secondary schools to assist, where possible, in preparing pupils to enter and succeed in higher education and, if teacher education is their mission, to prepare quality teachers to meet the State�s need for certified teachers;
• collaborate withgovernment and community organizations to identify pressing and emerging needs of society and devise effective ways to address those needs;
• collaborate with theprofessions and the people they serve to identify related needs that can be addressed by higher education, through new research initiatives or preparation of professionals with new knowledge and skills, and to devise effective ways to address those needs;
• collaborate withbusinesses and other organizations to identify their needs that can be addressed by higher education through new research initiatives or preparation of a workforce with new knowledge and skills, and to devise effective ways to address those needs, thus advancing development of intellectual capital, the economy, and related needs of New York State;
• provide New Yorkers with opportunities to learn using technological resources and other means including quality distance education; and
• seek excellence through ongoing self-study and study of the environment for the purpose of continual improvement.

EXAMPLES OF NEW YORK�S HIGHLY EFFECTIVE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

Examples of the effectiveness of New York�s higher education system include the following:

• According to U.S. News and World Report, for 2003:
• Eight New York colleges are among the nation�s top 50 liberal arts colleges � more than in any other state.
• Six universities in New York are among the nation�s top 50 universities � second only to California.
• Six New York medical schools are among the nation�s top 50 research-oriented medical schools � more than in any other state.
• Four New York medical schools are among the nation�s top 50 patient-care-oriented medical schools, tied with California for the largest number in a state.
• Full-time faculty at New York colleges and universities include Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, holders of the National Medal of Science, Academy Award (Oscar) winners, winners of MacArthur awards, and members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering and the National Institute of Medicine.
• Many colleges and universities their region�s largest employer, drawing students from outside the community and strengthening the economic base.
• Higher education institutions attracted nearly half of the $1.5 billion in Federal research funds that came to New York State in 2000.
• In 2002, more than $700 million in funded research expenditures placed the State University of New York eighth among American universities in the number of patents granted for inventions and in the top 15 for royalties earned by research universities on inventions.
• The American Association of State Colleges and Universities has designated SUNY�s system-wide academic strategic planning process, "Mission Review," as a Best Practice in quality assurance.
• The Association of Proprietary Colleges estimates that the 41 proprietary colleges annually contribute $427.2 million to New York�s economy.
• Independent colleges and universities in New York State generate over $40 billion annually in economic activity, employ 131,000 New Yorkers with a $6 billion payroll and operate more than 500 research centers and institutes that foster economic growth, entrepreneurship, and scientific discovery.
• One hundred thirty-two independent college and university faculty members and alumni have won Nobel prizes for their discoveries and achievements.
• A CUNY community college and a CUNY senior college were 2 of the 13 colleges nationwide named as "Institutions of Excellence in the First College Year" by the national Policy Center on the First Year of College, for the excellence of their programs to foster academic success by freshman students.
• A CUNY senior college�s students won first place at a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conference for their research on the possible connection between the high rate of asthma in the Bronx and the concentration of factories, highways, and other sources of air pollution.

REGENTS PRIORITIES FOR THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

The Regents priorities for New York�s higher education system for 2004-2012 are directed at making the system even more effective at meeting the needs of New York�s people. The priorities are organized under the following categories:

 

1. Maximizing Success for all Higher Education Students
2. Smooth Student Transition from PreK-12 to Higher Education
3. Strong Graduate Education to Meet the State�s Needs
4. Creation of New Knowledge through Research
5. Qualified Professionals for Every Community throughout the State
6. Qualified Teachers, Leaders, and Other School Professionals for New York�s Schools
7. A Balanced and Flexible Regulatory Environment to Support Excellence

 

I.

Maximizing Success for all Higher Education Students

A. Regents Priority: High Educational Quality. The Regents ask institutions to describe in their master plans how the results of their ongoing self-study processes improve the quality of students� education.

Undergraduate education helps assure academic, civic, and cultural success. It is the entry-level door to opportunity for effective participation in and contribution to society and prepares students to succeed in postgraduate study. New York has a highly effective higher education system in which institutions give students the ability to develop ethical, intellectual and social values; contribute to society; succeed in the workplace; and engage in lifelong learning. Within the context of diverse institutional missions and individual aspirations and talents, New York�s higher education community helps all students to attain the knowledge, skills, and ethical grounding to contribute to society and succeed in the workplace in responsible ways.

All students will attain progressively advanced levels of knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge effectively to problems in the field of study and to new areas. Students will learn from experts, printed and electronic documents, collaboration with peers, and their own observations and reasoning. They will learn independently, integrating and synthesizing different aspects of knowledge, extending and creating knowledge, thinking critically, and engaging in reflective self-critical thought. They will listen, speak, and write clearly and effectively. They will develop global consciousness and an adaptability to changing environments and conditions. They will become self-directed life-long learners capable of self-renewal.

An essential condition for achieving these outcomes is that institutions of higher education are communities of disciplined learning and reflection in which competent professionals actively and cooperatively engage in creating, providing, and improving educational offerings and services. This relates to the element of a highly effective system that calls on institutions to seek excellence through ongoing self-study and study of the environment in which they operate.

The Department has convened a task force composed of members from the four sectors to review our current policies and procedures in the area of distance education and to make recommendations about them. The task force will consider the Department�s principles of good practice for distance higher education and our criteria and procedures for the review of distance education capability and programs, their interactive effectiveness, identify strengths and weaknesses, and recommend improvements to the principles, criteria, and procedures. The 2004 Statewide Plan for Higher Education will include information on the provision to New Yorkers of higher education through distance education, the task force�s findings and recommendations, and initiatives related to those findings and recommendations.

B. Regents Priority: Articulation. The Regents ask institutions to describe in their master plans how they will improve articulation between two- and four-year colleges, among public, independent, and proprietary colleges and universities, and between undergraduate and graduate programs and institutions to assist students at every level in their progress towards a degree.

In the fall of 2001, 6,044 associate degree graduates of New York�s two-year colleges entered the upper division of New York four-year colleges and universities as full-time undergraduates. An additional 3,309 New York two-year college students without associate degrees also entered the upper division of New York four-year institutions as full-time undergraduates. These 9,353 students were two percent of the full-time undergraduates at New York four-year institutions that year.

Cooperation among institutions, individually and in consortia, is one of the elements of a highly effective higher education system. Improved educational offerings and services and improved time to degree completion for students may be accomplished by improving articulation between two- and four-year colleges, among public, independent, and proprietary colleges and universities, and between undergraduate and graduate programs and institutions.

C. Regents Priority: Affordability. The Regents will continue to collaborate with higher education institutions to advocate with State and Federal elected officials for an effective fiscal strategy to ensure access and an affordable higher education for all students.

A top priority for both State and Federal agendas should be reaffirming that access to college is a vital component to help ensure success for all. It is essential that colleges and universities remain affordable for low- and moderate- income students. Student loans and institutionally funded student aid, rather than grants, are growing at a rapid rate, causing stress for both students and institutions. A disproportionate share of loans is made to low- and moderate- income students, an ill-advised approach for a population least able to repay.

D. Regents Priority: Closing Performance Gaps. The Regents ask institutions to focus in their master plans on student retention and on activities to help close performance gaps based on students� economic status, ethnicity, race, or gender.

Student retention is an important barometer of an institution�s ability to provide the support needed for student success. Recent years have not seen improvements, statewide, in graduation rates. Of the full-time, first-time students matriculating in associate degree programs in 1994, 25.2 percent had graduated from the same institution three years later, by 1997. Of those matriculating in 1998, 23.9 percent had graduated from the same institution by 2001. Of the full-time, first-time students matriculating in baccalaureate programs in 1991, 58.4 percent had graduated from the same institution six years later, by 1997. Of those matriculating in 1995, 58.3 percent had graduated from that institution by 2001.

Disparities exist in success rates on the basis of economic condition, race, and/or ethnicity. For example, while 63.3 percent of the White full-time, first-time students matriculating in a baccalaureate program in 1995 had earned a baccalaureate degree from the same institution by 2001, for Black students the rate was 40.4 percent and for Hispanic students it was 39.9 percent. Similar disparities exist for students matriculating in associate degree programs. The State�s higher education opportunity programs are national models for assisting students in need to succeed in higher education; however, they cannot serve all students who could benefit from them.

E. Regents Priority: Students with Disabilities. The Regents ask institutions to focus in their master plans on access and success for their students who have disabilities. The Regents will work with the higher education community to assure that institutions have adequate financial support to maintain and initiate appropriate programs and services for these students.

In just four years, the number of persons with disabilities attending college grew by nearly 25 percent, from 28,132 in 1997 to 35,092 in 2001, when they were 3.4 percent of all students enrolled. Increasing numbers of students with disabilities will be graduating from high school with the desire to pursue higher education. These students offer special challenges for higher education. Faculty training, assistive technology, counseling, and appropriate support personnel are some of the factors being addressed by colleges and universities. Accessibility and success for students with disabilities in higher education will depend on an understanding of how to provide needed services effectively to these students and the ability to provide them. When given appropriate support, students with disabilities perform at rates equivalent to all students. For example, 56.1 percent of all full-time, first-time students matriculating in baccalaureate programs in the fall of 1995 had earned baccalaureate degrees from the same institution by 2001; over the same period the rate for students with disabilities was 60.7 percent.

II. Smooth Student Transition from PreK-12 to Higher Education

A. Regents Priority: Preparation for College. The Regents will strive to eliminate gaps in student performance based on economic status, race, ethnicity, or gender.

New York has a long-standing commitment to provide access to higher education to its residents. Success in higher education is directly attributable to the academic preparation of pupils in their elementary, middle, and secondary educational programs. Building on the Learning Standards and more rigorous graduation requirements, the Regents are committed to ensuring that all pupils receive a quality PreK-12 educational program to prepare them for higher education.

B. Regents Priority: Information and Assistance in Preparing for College. Beginning with pupils in the middle school grades, the Regents encourage collaborative efforts among the Department, colleges, and school districts to publicize the variety of services and information available to help K-12 pupils and their families access and prepare for success in future college study and to assure that information is clear and understandable by potential students and their families.

Collaboration between colleges and the schools to assist pupils to enter and succeed in higher education is one of the elements of a highly effective higher education system. Over 80 percent of New York State high school seniors in 2000-01 planned to go on to postsecondary education; 63 percent planned to attend New York institutions. The Regents support the role that higher education institutions are playing to ensure that pupils have the knowledge and skills to make a smooth transition from PreK-12 to higher education through such programs as the State�s Liberty Partnership and STEP programs. These and other comprehensive programs and strategies will improve the abilities of all youth to graduate from high school and prepare for competitive entry into higher education and the work force.

III.

Strong Graduate Education to Meet the State�s Needs

A. Regents Priority: Meeting New York�s Needs. The Regents will advocate that our colleges and universities, and the State and Federal governments, strengthen graduate education. Institutions are asked to identify the emerging areas of scholarship for which they will need faculty, their needs for new faculty to replace those departing or retiring, and the extent of their need for faculty reflecting the diversity of New York�s student body.

Graduate education helps prepare scholars to conduct research and educate other professionals. Of New York�s 261 colleges and universities, 134 (51.3 percent) offer 8,171 programs leading to master�s and doctoral degrees or advanced certificates. This year, they are preparing 185,509 full- and part-time graduate students (17.0 percent of all New York college and university students).

New scholars are needed in all areas of academe. The lack of scholars can seriously jeopardize New York�s ability to conduct needed research; prepare teachers in such critical areas as mathematics, the sciences, special education, and bilingual education; and contribute to national security. Last year, New York�s colleges and universities had over 45,000 full-time faculty members. Large numbers of faculty are expected to retire in the next decade, as nearly one-third of full-time faculty, nationwide, is 55 or older.

A gap exists between the representation of members of racial/ethnic groups among faculty and their representation among students. Nearly 25 percent of the student body in New York is Black, Hispanic, or Native American, but only 8.4 percent of full-time faculty is from those racial/ethnic groups.

A gap also exists between the rates at which students of different racial/ethnic groups earn undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 2000-01, Black, Hispanic, and Native American students earned 27.3 percent of all the baccalaureate degrees conferred in New York; however, they received only 10.2 percent of the doctorates conferred.

Statewide, New York�s colleges and universities offer 1,087 programs leading to doctoral degrees, of which 847 are research-oriented programs leading to Ph.D. degrees. In 2000-01, those institutions conferred 3,606 doctorates to their students, who participate in a national and international employment market. These were 8.4 percent fewer doctorates than were granted in 1995-96. Most of the doctorates conferred in 2000-01 were in only five program areas: the Biological Sciences/Life Sciences, Psychology, the Social Sciences and History, Education, and Engineering. These five categories accounted for 59 percent of that year�s doctoral degrees.

IV.

Creation of New Knowledge through Research

A. Regents Priority: Contributing to New York�s Needs through Research. The Regents encourage institutional initiatives and ask institutions to describe in their master plans their research priorities and their recommendations to New York State relating to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge, including knowledge to inform and support the development of policies to help meet the State�s economic and social needs.

New York�s higher education system continues to need high research capabilities. Knowledge continues to grow exponentially. Collaboration with business and other organizations and with the professions and the people they serve through research is one of the elements of a highly effective higher education system.

Within the last decade, technology has changed how the world conducts business. The health of New York, the nation, and the world depends on creating new knowledge to help meet present and future needs and pressing and emerging challenges. Research at colleges and universities in such areas as technology, health care, and energy sources will contribute significantly to this end. In February 2003, Massachusetts Institute of Technology�s Technology Review identified ten emerging technologies as among those likely to be highly influential in the near future: Glycomics, Grid Computing, Injectable Tissue Engineering, Mechatronics, Molecular Imaging, Nano Solar Cells, Nanoimprint Lithography, Quantum Cryptography, Software Assurance, and Wireless Sensor Networks.

Collaboration with government and community organizations to identify pressing and emerging needs of society also is one of the elements of a highly effective higher education system. New York State needs research in a broad range of disciplines to help inform the development and support of policies to meet the State�s economic and social needs. The Department will convene meetings of producers, consumers, and funders of research to identify these research needs and to publicize the results.

Another element of a highly effective higher education system is that every institution avidly pursues knowledge relating to its mission and shares that knowledge with others. Therefore, every institution is encouraged to consider the role research plays in its mission. Those that focus on technical or professional fields may engage faculty and students in applied research. Many baccalaureate institutions include undergraduate research projects in their programs of study.

V.

Qualified Professionals for Every Community throughout the State

A. Regents Priority: An Adequate Supply of Qualified Professionals. The Regents and the Department will continue to monitor supply, demand, and changing conditions for all professions and will strengthen efforts to:

One of the elements of a highly effective higher education system is that its institutions collaborate with professional practitioners and the people they serve to identify emerging needs and devise ways to meet those needs.

Legislation approved in December 2002 created four new mental health professions effective January 1, 2005: mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, creative arts therapy, and psychoanalysis. While grandparenting provisions may allow current practitioners to seek licensure under the new law, colleges, universities, and psychotherapy institutes may need to work with the Department to develop and register licensure-qualifying programs, once implementing regulations are approved.

Professional workforce shortages are drawing the attention of professionals, legislators, educators, administrators, regulators and employers. The Regents have initiated a comprehensive strategy to address the existing shortage in the State�s nursing workforce (estimated to be 17,000 nurses by 2005 and to rise thereafter). The State�s residents rely on these professionals for their health and safety. Shortages of other professionals, such as pharmacists and librarians, are imminent. Steps such as those outlined under "Success for All Higher Education Students" and "Smooth Student Transition from PreK-12 to Higher Education" will help address shortages by increasing the number and diversity of students attracted to professional education.

At the same time, the pace of change for professionals themselves has quickened. Technology offers new practice opportunities in all fields, and particularly in health, business, information, engineering, and design. The ongoing development of knowledge and skills is critical in today's dynamic practice environments. With the addition of a law that will soon require continuing education of professional engineers and land surveyors, 150,000 active practitioners in 15 health, design and business professions will have a continuing education mandate. The preparation and continuing education that future professionals receive must reflect technological and other developments in the professional environment and communicate effectively the need to uphold ethical values and practices.

The reasons for professional workforce shortages are complex, as are the dynamics of change in the professional environment. The Regents believe that one key element in addressing both challenges is a strong link between the institutions of higher education and the needs of the diverse communities served by these institutions and the professionals they prepare.

VI.

Qualified Teachers, Leaders, and Other School Professionals for New York�s Schools

A. Regents Priority:An Adequate Supply of Qualified Teachers and School Leaders.To provide all pupils with the high-quality education to which they are entitled, the Regents will work with the State�s higher education institutions and K-12 educational community to meet the needs of our schools for decades to come by:

• Recruiting, preparing, and retaining an adequate supply of qualified teachers for all subject matter areas and for all geographic locations throughout the State; and

• Recruiting, preparing, and retaining outstanding school leaders.

Improving instruction in the PreK-12 schools depends on teachers who have the requisite knowledge and skills to assist all children to meet the Regents Learning Standards and on school administrators and other school personnel to serve as effective leaders for the State�s schools and districts. Collaboration with the schools to assist in preparing their pupils to enter and succeed in higher education is one of the elements of a highly effective higher education system.

In 2000-01, New York�s public schools enrolled approximately 2.8 million pupils from kindergarten through high school. The challenge is to provide an adequate supply of teachers who are prepared to teach diverse pupil populations including the gifted and talented, non-native speakers, pupils with disabilities, and pupils from socioeconomic backgrounds ranging from those eligible for free or reduced-price lunches to those with family incomes in the highest brackets. To ensure that every pupil in our richly diverse American mix achieves the knowledge and skills specified in the Regents Learning Standards, colleges must prepare quality teachers and further improve collaboration between education faculties and liberal arts faculties. School districts must provide in-service opportunities for working teachers to expand their repertoires. Effective instructional leaders must guide our schools and districts.

In 2001-02, approximately 220,000 classroom teachers were employed in New York State's public schools and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). Almost 12 percent of them either were not certified for the subjects or levels they were teaching or held temporary certificates (which no longer will be issued starting September 2003). Of the teachers reporting their age, more than nine percent were at or near retirement. That year, 74.2 percent of schools, statewide, did not have a certified library media specialist; 30 percent of elementary schools upstate and 94 percent in New York City lacked full-time certified school librarians. The State�s public schools employed 4,108 school principals and 763 superintendents of schools in 2001-02. Almost 16 percent of the principals and 30 percent of the superintendents reporting their age neared retirement.

Current and projected shortages of qualified teachers exist in certain geographic areas and in several instructional fields, including special education, mathematics, science, social studies, English, languages other than English, bilingual education, library media specialist, and career and technical education. Agreement on the academic requirements of two-year and four-year colleges will contribute to the smooth transition of students seeking to become teachers. Registration by two- and four-year colleges of joint teacher education programs will assist students in successfully entering the field without duplication of coursework, also contributing to the pool of teachers to alleviate shortages. Over the coming decade, new school leaders also will be needed to replace retiring principals and superintendents.

VII.

A Balanced and Flexible Regulatory Environment to Support Excellence

A. Regents Priority: Encouraging a Highly Effective System. The Regents and the Department will maintain avenues of communication to assure that colleges and universities are aware of regulations and their application and have an opportunity for input. The Regents priority will remain to ensure a regulatory environment that helps to sustain and support a highly effective system of higher education.

A search for excellence by colleges and universities through ongoing self-study is one of the elements of a highly effective higher education system. The Regents are committed to an ongoing dialogue with higher education institutions concerning the regulatory environment that affects them. The Regents and the Department will seek to assure that regulatory requirements are consistent with and supportive of the Statewide Plan. They will demonstrate awareness of changes in higher education by working cooperatively with all constituencies in the review of existing regulations and policies. The goal will be to assure high academic standards and accountability through regulations that make sense and that do not present unreasonable academic and financial burdens to institutions.

B. Regents Priority: Funding a Highly Effective System. The Regents will advocate for increased State funding for higher education in New York. New York State ranks 36^th among states in per capita state expenditures for higher education

As the Regents work cooperatively with the higher education community to assure a balanced regulatory environment, they also will work with sector leaders to advocate for adequate and carefully budgeted financial support (1) for colleges and universities as they endeavor to fulfill their missions and comply with quality standards set forth in regulations, and (2) for student financial aid.