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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.
April 2008
Session 2008: Higher Education Funding in the Forefront
The 2008 Sine Die was a sign of great
progress for the University System of Maryland (USM). Governor O'Malley
and the General Assembly's commitment to advancing higher education was
clearly evident in the passage of the FY 2009 operating budget, which
provides the system a total of $1.08 billion in general funds and
revenue from the Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF). This
translates into $75.1 million above the FY 2008 level--a nine percent
increase for USM when the two percent cost-of-living-adjustment funding
is factored into it.
The budget will allow USM to hold
in-state undergraduate tuition level for a third straight year, barring
any future budget reductions. In just three short years, Maryland will
have gone from the state with the sixth highest tuition nationwide to
the 16th.
With a commitment of well over $200 million
dollars in FY 2009, the Governor and General Assembly are also
launching $1.2 billion in capital projects across USM over the next
five years. Highlights of the system's capital improvement plan include
Coppin State University's new Health and Human Services Building and
Physical Education Complex; University of Maryland, Baltimore's School
of Pharmacy Addition and Renovation; Towson University's new College of
Liberal Arts Complex; and the University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science's Oyster Production Facility. Revenues from HEIF
will also be directed toward three high-priority capital projects at
University of Maryland, College Park: the School of Public Health, the
Biosciences Research Building; and Physical Sciences Complex.
USM Marks 20 Years of Growth
July 1, 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the
University System of Maryland (USM). In the two decades since the
creation of USM from the merger of the five University of Maryland
institutions and the six members of the State University and College
System of Maryland, USM has marked significant milestones in its growth
and in its service to the citizens of Maryland.
Since 1988,
the number of students attending USM's 11 universities has grown 34
percent, from 102,687 in Fall 1988 to 137,648 in Fall 2007. During the
same period, the number of first-time full-time freshmen has grown 58
percent and the number of community college transfer students has grown
149 percent. The number of bachelor's degrees granted has increased 34
percent, while master's degrees grew by 154 percent and doctoral
degrees by 108 percent. Minority student enrollment has tripled in
actual numbers, from 15 percent (15,404) of total students in 1988 to
36 percent (49,553) in 2008.
"The foundation of our mission
has always been expanding access to higher education to more and more
students," said USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan. "Looking ahead to our
third decade, demand for higher education will only grow as we serve an
increasingly diverse student population."
For more highlights of USM history, visit our 20 Anniversary Exhibit on display at the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis, or view our online USM Timeline.
USM Welcomes Three New Regents
Three regents will join the USM Board of Regents on July 1. Norman
R. Augustine, Frank M. Reid III, and Joshua L. Michael were nominated
to the board by Governor Martin O'Malley and confirmed in March by the
Maryland Senate.
Augustine and Reid replace Robert Mitchell
and Robert Pevenstein, whose five-year terms conclude this June.
Augustine is the former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin and also
served as chairman and principal officer of the American Red Cross for
nine years. A recipient of the President's National Medal of Technology
and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Distinguished Public Service Award,
Augustine has a long and distinguished career in the defense industry
as well as in public service. Reid has served as senior pastor of
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Baltimore City
for the past 20 years. A highly regarded speaker, author, and teacher,
Reid is a graduate of Harvard and Yale universities and received his
doctorate in ministry from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Michael, a rising junior at University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC), will serve a one-year term as student regent. He is
studying political science and secondary education. He has served as
the UMBC representative to the USM Student Council since 2006 and is
currently a student commissioner on the Maryland Higher Education
Commission.
MORE
USM Institutions Attract $1 Billion in Research Grants
USM's 13 institutions received more than $1 billion in external
funding for research, education, and service in FY 2007. Private,
federal, and state grants and contracts to the system's institutions
totaled $1.08 billion, up 10.9 percent from FY 2006-an all-time high
for USM.
External funding through private (corporations and
foundations) and public grants and contracts supports a variety of
endeavors by the system's faculty and students, including scientific
and medical research, academic scholarship, commissioned studies, and
public service projects.
During FY 2007, increases in
external funding were seen at Coppin State University (up 10.1
percent); Towson University (up 10.1 percent); University of Baltimore
(up 5.2 percent); University of Maryland, Baltimore (up 8.1 percent);
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (up 4.6 percent); University
of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (up 30.7 percent); University of
Maryland, College Park (up 16.5 percent); and University of Maryland
University College (up 11.7 percent).
During the past six
years, the amount of external research funding that USM receives
annually has risen 38 percent, from $783.7 million in FY 2001 to $1.082
billion in FY 2007.
MORE
Enrollment to Rise 24 Percent by 2017
While recent studies predict a leveling in the number of high
school graduates over the next decade, USM projects a 24 percent
increase in its total enrollment by 2017. Total undergraduate headcount
is expected to rise 23 percent, from a current 99,031 to 121,750, while
graduate enrollment is projected to rise 25 percent during the same
period, from a current 38,617 to 48,311 by 2017. Enrollment projections
are critical for long- and short-term planning as USM assesses
resources it will need--in facilities, services, personnel, and
operating budgets--to accommodate an increasing number of students.
USM projects that most of the enrollment growth will occur at its
comprehensive universities--Bowie State University (BSU); Coppin State
University (CSU); Frostburg State University (FSU); Salisbury
University (SU); Towson University (TU); University of Baltimore (UB);
and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES)--and at its online
university, University of Maryland University College (UMUC).
Enrollments at the system's research universities--University of
Maryland, Baltimore (UMB); University of Maryland, Baltimore County
(UMBC); and University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP)--are expected
to remain relatively stable over the next decade.
MORE
USM Graduate Programs Rank Among the Best
The release of U.S. News & World Report's 2009 America's Best Graduate Schools saw USM universities placing among the top programs and schools in the nation.
The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), had three programs
place in the Top 5: the College of Education's Counseling/Personnel
Services program (No. 1) and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and
Physical Sciences Plasma Physics and Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics
programs (No. 2 and No. 5 respectively). UMCP's national Top 50 schools
included the Robert H. Smith School of Business (No. 39), Clark School
of Engineering (No. 17), School of Public Policy (No. 25), and College
of Education (No. 25)
The University of Maryland School of Law also made the nation's Top 100 law schools at No. 42.
For more information, visit USM in the National Rankings.
Would you like to receive a copy of Chancellor Kirwan's FY 2008 Annual Report?
The report will include updates on the Chancellor's three
initiatives: closing the achievement gap; fostering environmental
sustainability; and strengthening Maryland's global competitiveness
through STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education.
Click here
to send us your name, organization, and address. We will mail you a
copy of the FY 2008 Annual Report when it is published in late June.
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