The Maryland General Assembly tentatively agreed Tuesday to a bill aimed at improving the approval process for higher education programs. The bill has been a source of controversy for years, exacerbated last year after a decision by the State Board of Higher Education.
The House and Senate quickly passed Senate Bill 1022 and House Bill 1244. These bills include a number of provisions based on the recommendations of the Legislative Working Group, which evaluated the committee's policies and procedures. The measure received unanimous support in the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Education, Energy, and Environment Committee.
Both bills require institutions to object to approval of academic programs based on several factors, including failure to meet “state or local needs” consistent with the state's higher education plan developed by the commission. Mandating the opposite.
The Program Approval Process Workgroup held its first meeting in August. In June, the Higher Education Commission made a controversial decision to allow a new business analytics degree program at Towson University over the objections of officials at Morgan State University, a historically black campus eight miles away. did. He argued that anyone would replicate a similar program.
Alumni and supporters of Morgan and the state's three other HBCUs (Bowie State University, Coppin State University, and Eastern Shore University of Maryland) said the commission's decision will reduce the $577 million approved in 2021. This is in direct contradiction to the proposed settlement. That settlement states that a lawsuit filed in 2006 allowed the state to provide more resources to predominantly white educational institutions and allow those schools to duplicate programs offered at the state's HBCUs. denounced.
“Our goal is to make sure this never happens again,” Sen. Ron Watson (D-Prince George's), a member of the task force, said on the Senate floor Tuesday.
The Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and Environment voted on various bills on March 11, 2024, including Senate Bill 1022. Photo by William J. Ford.
Amendments to both bills include requiring the commission to implement a new review process for academic programs “offered exclusively online to a majority of out-of-state students,” and the committee's approval by the House. Includes requiring annual reporting of new programs. His HBCU in the state opposed him last school year over opposition by one. The first report is expected to be submitted by September 1, 2025.
The House bill only includes a special provision that would allow four HBCUs and the University of Maryland, College Park to submit proposals to implement Emerging Workforce graduate-level programs. According to the bill, the program must address “innovative, unique, and unusual” jobs and industries that higher education institutions do not have to offer, can leverage federal, state, or private resources on a long-term basis, and must It is said to have immediate effects. development.
“Many people believe that reconciliation was all about money, but if this process further entrenches the status quo of duplication, then we have failed in the mission of the Reconciliation Act,” said Democratic Representative Stephanie Smith. There won't be any,” he said. Baltimore City, which sponsored the House version and co-chaired the working group, said Monday. “That’s what this bill is about.”
Other institutions may submit proposals for graduate-level programs for the emerging workforce, but only within two years of the commission's release of the state higher education plan, or “appendix” to the plan. Higher education plans were last revised in 2022 and must be updated by Jan. 1 to include the latest data and other information about state and local workforce needs.
collaboration
One word Smith and other members of the working group emphasized: collaboration.
The bill mentions it at least 10 times, including the creation of a fund to provide financial assistance to “encourage higher education institutions to cooperate with each other” to establish and implement graduate programs. ing.
The commission would administer a non-expiring joint grant fund, consisting of funds appropriated in the state budget, interest income and other funds from sources “received from the profits of the fund.”
Another type of cooperation required for this measure is for the commission, the state Department of Labor, and the Department of Commerce to work together to examine data and other information to identify specific workforce needs within the state.
It would cost MHEC and the state Department of Labor about $164,000 each to hire analysts to study state and local workforce needs, according to the bill analysis and accounting report.
When the task force released its recommendation report in January, it noted that while other states require cooperation in approving programs, Maryland does not. Furthermore, “MHEC leadership made little substantive effort to foster cooperation between the agencies.''
Bowie State University submitted a letter of support for this bill to the House Appropriations Committee.
“Rather than requiring programs to be redesigned to alleviate concerns, a transparent, collaborative, and consistent process allows agencies to ensure that their programs are addressed early in the process, during program design and development. We believe we can address your specific concerns and eliminate the possibility of duplication of programs,'' the letter dated Feb. 27 said.
A Towson University spokesperson deferred comment to the University System of Maryland (USM) on Tuesday.
“The University System of Maryland has no comment,” USM spokesman Mike Lurie said in an email Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Nancy King (D-Montgomery). Photo by Brian P. Sears.
With less than four weeks left until Congress adjourns for 90 days, Sen. Nancy King (D-Montgomery) said Monday she believes the bill will pass.
“We've been working hard on this…and we've come up with something very close to what everyone agreed on. [including] university presidents and legislators,” said King, who sponsored the Senate version and co-chaired the working group. “We have to pass this.”
