Maintaining affordability is as important to achieving the 2020 Vision targets as ensuring sufficient operating revenue for the universities. As we move forward with the strategic vision for the university system, we are confronted with balancing these competing policy objectives, which has been made particularly difficult by the state's current fiscal crisis that is expected to last several years.

In order to meet enrollment goals set forth in our 2020 Vision, and the needs of the future workforce, higher education must remain affordable. If the net cost rises too fast and students are priced out of attending college, the university system will have difficulty meeting its enrollment goals, which will have a direct affect on Arizona's economy and quality of life.

Conversely, if funding levels drop too low, the universities will lack the sufficient resources required to provide access to quality programs and degrees. Both affordability and resources must be managed together so that funding for the universities is maximized while minimizing financial barriers for students. (return to top)

In an effort to support Arizona's technical workforce needs and increase access to bachelor's degrees, the Board of Regents recently approved a measure to allow students in Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree programs at Arizona community colleges to transfer up to 15 more credit hours (a full semester) in general education courses into the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) programs at the three universities. This means that a student can now transfer up to 75 credit hours as compared with 60-64 credit hours in previous years.

AAS programs address Arizona's workforce needs by providing entry level education in a variety of technical fields from fire science to automotive technology. The BAS degree provides an option for individuals with an AAS degree who need additional education for upward mobility and for the state to address its workforce needs. (return to top)

As the Arizona Legislature reconvened on Monday, January 11, Governor Brewer delivered her State of the State Address. In her speech, Governor Brewer thanked the Regents, university presidents and community college presidents for their work in response to her call for a new higher education model. She also emphasized the state's fiscal crisis and boiled her five point plan down to three points:

• Make further cuts to spending
• Raise additional revenue in the short term
• Make certain the state never again spends itself into a similar fiscal crisis

The full text of the Governor's State of the State can be found here. | (return to top)

President Calderón's editorial "Preserve the Dream" is published in this month's edition of Latino Perspectives magazine. Below is an excerpt from the publication:

In many ways, the 2020 Vision extends beyond our ambition for the university system since our success depends heavily on increasing the educational pipeline. That is, if we are to substantially increase degree production, significantly more students must graduate from Arizona's high schools and significantly more community college students must transfer to our universities.

Read the full editorial. | (return to top)

As more than 5,000 students prepared to graduate from Arizona State University (ASU), Elinor Ostrom, an ASU research professor, received her Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences - an award never before given to a woman or non-economist. Praise was also given to ASU's Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld for their algae fuel research that began more than 25 years ago and earned them the distinction of Innovators of the Year at Arizona's 2009 Governor's Celebration of Innovation, and scientist Raul Yzaguirre, a Presidential Professor of Practice and the executive director of ASU's Center for Community Development and Civil Rights, was nominated by President Obama as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

Additionally, the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education at ASU was awarded several research grants: $1.9 million from the National Science Foundation aimed at helping women succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields; $1.3 million aimed at increasing the number of American Indian teachers certified in early childhood education to serve Arizona Indian Nations; and $5.6 million from the U.S. Department of Education to support a three-year initiative designed to boost literacy among Navajo preschool children. ASU is also leading a $40.8 million, multi-institutional research program to develop systems that would rapidly measure an individual's level of exposure to radiation in the event of a radiological or nuclear incident. (return to top)

Mention larger classes, and the tendency is to think lesser quality. But one Northern Arizona University professor is on a mission to change that mindset-demonstrating that bigger can be made better.

"We're a small-class-size university, but not every class will be small. Even so, when classes are larger they can still be amazing," said Michelle Miller, a psychology professor and nationally recognized expert in course design who is using her know-how to lead a campuswide team charged with making large, foundational classes more engaging for students while improving their learning outcomes.

"With careful attention to a course's design, some larger courses end up being even more engaging than expected," she said.

Modeling efforts after guidelines set forth by the National Center for Academic Transformation, a non-profit organization with a mission to show how information technology can improve quality and reduce costs in higher education, the team now has several successful course redesigns behind them. As campus interest continues to grow, Miller is eager to share the center’s proven methods with other instructors of larger courses. At NAU, “large course” is a relative term, according to Karen Pugliesi, vice provost for Academic Affairs. “It could refer to a 200-student course—the maximum number NAU can physically seat in any one classroom—or it could be 15 sections of the same course with just 40 students each,” Pugliesi said.

Read the entire article. | (return to top)

The Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques Center's Road Map to College program is aiding high school students who have learning disabilities to lay out a plan for college.

What started as two-week summer program for high school students with learning challenges has since grown into an extensive program that one teachers said is shifting the priorities of those involved.

The University of Arizona's Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques, or SALT Center, initiated the Road Map to College program in response to a pervasive concern. SALT, a 30-year-old center at UA that supports students who have learning and attention challenges, initiated the pilot program, known as RMC, at Pueblo High School in 2008.

Read the entire article. (return to top)

This chart illustrates the affordability of the universities by showing how much of a family's annual income is needed to pay for the cost of college - keeping in mind that we only collect data from those who complete the FASFA (25 percent). What we have found is that the percentage of family income needed to pay the net cost has remained relatively stable for the lowest income group at 22.9 percent and has increased slightly over the past two years to 18.3 percent for those families with incomes between $20k-$49k.

To pay for college in 2009, it took about 23 percent of the annual income for those with a household income under $20k compared to just over nine percent for those with a household income above $80k. This disparity underlines the importance of ensuring need-based financial aid availability and moving forward with lower cost options in order to create a successful strategy for maintaining college affordability. (return to top)