Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

This periodic newsletter shares how the University System of Maryland is advancing quality and access to higher education for students and the State of Maryland. Let us hear from you: usmbriefs-owner@usmd.edu.

October/November 2007

Regents Vote to Support Dedicated Funding for Higher Education

The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents has adopted a resolution in support of Governor O'Malley's proposal for a revenue enhancement dedicated to higher education. The board took this action during its October 19 meeting at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) when USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan brought the resolution to the board.

The resolution calls on state leaders to support the governor's proposal and "to enact revenue enhancements as long-term investments dedicated to advancing our state and in particular to advancing our state's higher education institutions."

"Accessible and affordable public universities are vital to the citizens of the state and play an essential role in support of Maryland's economic leadership," said Chancellor Kirwan. "Creating a revenue enhancement dedicated to higher education will help the state meet the demands of growing college enrollments, maintain affordability, and foster the quality that keeps Maryland on the leading edge of the knowledge economy."

Click here to read the complete text of the board resolution.

Reginald S. Avery, current vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of South Carolina (USC) Upstate, has been appointed the new president for Coppin State University (CSU). He will join CSU on January 14, 2008.

As executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at USC Upstate, Avery has overseen increases in the number of faculty and full-time students as well as in the number of opportunities for faculty and students to study abroad; increased collaborations and partnerships with business and industry, non-profit organizations, schools, and health facilities; implemented the Metropolitan Studies Institute as the university's primary educational outreach; and secured key outside funding grants. He also conceived and developed the school's Center for Undergraduate Research.
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USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan has unveiled three new initiatives for the system this fall to address major challenges to Maryland's economic and educational leadership. The "green" initiative will address sustainability systemwide to make USM a leader in educational and institutional responses to global climate change. The competitiveness initiative will address the critical need to put Maryland and its students on a footing for success in the new global knowledge economy and includes a focus on increasing the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teachers in Maryland schools.

The chancellor's third initiative will address the threat of the state's widening achievement gap for minority and underserved students. To launch this initiative, USM is sponsoring a day-long symposium, "The Compelling Reasons for Closing the Achievement Gap," on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at the University of Baltimore. The event will bring state education and policy leaders together by invitation to develop new strategies in concert with all levels of the state's K-12 sector that will reverse this trend and give all Marylanders the skills and knowledge to succeed.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) ranked in the top tier of Historically Black Colleges and Universities while University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) placed 18th among Top National Public Universities in the just released U.S. News & World Report 2008 America's Best Colleges rankings. Salisbury University and Towson University ranked 7th and 9th respectively in the Top Public Universities-Master's for the northeast region.

These and other accolades received by USM institutions--such as best value, most diverse, and community engaged--continue to testify to the academic excellence of Maryland's public system of higher education.

For more information, visit our USM in the National Rankings web page to see how our institutions continue to rank among the best in the nation.

Community college transfer students now comprise 30 percent of all new undergraduates enrolling in the system's universities. To improve the transfer process for these students, USM has launched Maryland TransPort, a one-stop online information portal to facilitate smoother transitions from community college to four-year institutions.

Through the portal, transfer students can enter their course information via USM's online articulation system to determine which institutions and programs will accept their courses and credits. In addition, the site provides transfer scholarship and tuition information for Maryland's public and private colleges and universities.

"Over the last decade, USM's institutions have worked with Maryland's community colleges to set up articulation agreements that simplify the transferring of credits to four-year programs," said Teri Hollander, associate vice chancellor of academic affairs at USM. "Our goal has been to reduce the confusion and streamline the transfer process for students, families, and advisors. TransPort is one part of this ongoing effort."
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As of October 2007, the USM federated campaign has raised $804 million, nearing the half-way point of its $1.7 million goal. The federated campaign includes all of the system's 11 universities and two research institutions.

In recent weeks, USM institutions have received a number of notable gifts, including a $3 million gift from the family fund of Board of Regents Chair Clifford Kendall and his wife Camille in support of scholarships for students at the Universities at Shady Grove; a $500,000 gift from Jim and Virginia Dresher to support the ongoing work of the Dresher Center for the Humanities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and a $100,000 gift from Peninsula Regional Medical Center in support of Salibury University's Respiratory Therapy Program.

For the latest campaign and fundraising news, read Leader Notes, a publication of the University System of Maryland Foundation.

USM is making strides to reduce student loan debt and increase need-based financial aid. The system's Financial Aid Report FY 2000-2005, released this summer, indicates significant progress toward this goal, including a 60 percent increase in the amount of system funds dedicated to need-based aid (from $13.2 million in FY 2000 to $21.6 million in FY 2005).

USM has specifically targeted increasing institutional aid to help decrease loan indebtedness for all undergraduate students, particularly for Pell Grant-eligible students, who are typically in the highest need range. (The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate students to promote access to postsecondary education.) The system's target is to keep the loan debt burden carried by the highest need students at least 25 percent below the institutional average loan debt burden for all USM undergraduates.

To access the USM Financial Aid Report FY 2000-2005 and other annual reports of the system, visit our online archive of annual reports.

USM has released Profile 2007-2008, a handy brochure that provides an overview of the system's administration, the Board of Regents, and our 11 universities, two research institutions, and two regional higher education centers.

To request a free copy, please e-mail jbuettner@usmd.edu. We'll be glad to send you one by mail.