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NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION SUBMITS ITS PRELIMINARY REPORT TO GOVERNOR SPITZER
Proposes Significant Reforms to Strengthen New York’s Colleges and Universities

The New York State Commission on Higher Education today submitted its Preliminary Report to Governor Eliot Spitzer and called for a Compact to ensure New York’s public higher education institutions are properly funded. Among its recommendations, the Commission called for hiring an additional 2,000 full-time faculty over the next five years, enacting significant reforms to strengthen New York’s community colleges, and creating a fund to support research proposals with significant economic development promise.

The Commission is also calling for a program that would guarantee free college tuition for seventh and eighth grade students who meet math and English language standards, as well as high school graduation requirements, in proposed Education Partnership Zones in high-need school districts.

“I look forward to evaluating this report and taking the Commission’s recommendations for how my administration can create policies and programs that will make New York’s higher education system second to none into consideration,” said Governor Spitzer. “Excellence in higher education is a key to our state’s future and the Commission’s recommendations will go a long way towards achieving that goal. I expect these recommendations to become part of a continuing dialogue aimed at helping our colleges, universities, and students succeed.”

The Commission, chaired by Hunter Rawlings, President Emeritus, Cornell University, was created earlier this year by Governor Spitzer to identify ways to improve the quality of higher education in New York. Among the Commission's major recommendations are:

• Establishing a $3 billion research fund, the Empire State Innovation Fund, to support meritorious research important to New York's future.
• Creating a low-cost student loan program for residents attending college in New York State.
• Establishing the New York State Compact for Public Higher Education to clearly delineate shared responsibility for public higher education resources.
• Rebuilding CUNY and SUNY faculty ranks by strategically hiring an additional 2,000 full-time faculty, including 250 eminent scholars, over the next five years.
• Modifying SUNY's governance structure and system executive staff to provide more focused attention and support for the research campuses.
• Providing meaningful regulatory relief for SUNY and CUNY, by removing restrictions that impede campuses' ability to adapt quickly and promote quality.
• Developing Educational Partnership Zones in high-need school districts, bringing together higher education and P-12 resources to improve student outcomes and enhance college participation.
• Ensuring high school graduates are well prepared for college through a College Readiness Act.
• Strengthening transfer of academic credits between colleges throughout SUNY and CUNY with a goal of seamless transfer between similar programs by 2011-2012.
• Addressing the backlog of critical maintenance at SUNY and CUNY with a sustained program of capital re-investment.

These and all of the recommendations offered in the report focus on building excellence across New York State's higher education system – including all sectors, public and private, and all institutions.

First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer said: "I would like to commend the Commission on its intensive work to strengthen New York's education system. Their findings and subsequent dialogues over the next months are crucial components to fortifying our institutions of learning and building on what is already a strong asset base for our state. Successful outcomes will be essential to the Governor's vision for an Innovation Economy and to attracting and retaining New York's next generation."

Chairman Rawlings said: “This is a major milestone for higher education in the State of New York. Although these conclusions are preliminary, the report is the culmination of over six months of intensive deliberations about the future, and what it takes to keep New York competitive in the 21st century. The Commission is going to spend the next six months listening. The report makes it very clear that there will be more public hearings, and more dialogue with everyone who has a stake in New York's higher education institutions. I'm confident the report will be stronger because of this period of dialogue.”

Richard Mills, New York State’s Commissioner of Education and a member of the Higher Education Commission said: “A major investment in higher education, together with the continuing renewal of the public schools, will create the true P-16 system that the Regents have long advocated, and give New York a spectacular advantage in the global arena.”

John Sexton, President of New York University, Chairman of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, and also a Commission member said: “New York enjoys a special status as one of the great idea capitals of the world. This special status is to a very large degree traceable to the unique blend of excellence that we find in New York, a blend of great public and private colleges and universities. Collaboration will be the key to preserving New York as an idea capital in the future.”

Carl Hayden, Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees, said: “This Commission brought together some of the sharpest minds in higher education and challenged them to think boldly about the future of New York. They rose to that challenge in admirable fashion and I think these recommendations, if implemented, will go a long way to securing New York as national and international leader in higher education.”

Dr. John Clark, Interim Chancellor of the State University of New York, said: "The Commission's report identifies the major problems of too little revenue, too little investment and too much regulation which have traditionally inhibited CUNY and SUNY, and provides a long-term roadmap for public higher education in New York State which should lead it to national prominence."

In the Executive Order creating the Commission, the Governor called for a Preliminary Report of findings and recommendations in December 2007. The Final Report of findings and recommendations is called for on or before June 1, 2008.