Dive Brief:
- The argument between who has control over curriculum at a public university persists between states that require uniformity to ensure easy transfer credits between schools, and departments who want autonomy for what and how they teach in their own university, according to Inside Higher Ed.
- Laws mandating transfer can inhibit some department decisions at individual schools, but if all departments are granted total independence, there would eventually be conflict between four-year schools, which could make it difficult for community colleges who thrive on The promise of four-year institutions accepting students who later decide to transfer.
- Massachusetts may be a possible model for compromise; the state gathered faculty from all types of schools by discipline and mandated that those faculty members reach an agreement to approve a statewide curriculum for disciplines at public colleges and universities.
Dive Insight:
Georgia State Senator Earl Erhart has threatened colleges and universities, both public and private, with withholding direct appropriations and construction bond approvals if he disagrees with a particular campus policy. Recently, the rash of protests on campuses that have threatened to turn violent have led legislators to push for stronger campus disciplinary actions or for the removal of "safe spaces." However someone feels about these actions and responses, it is clear that legislative influence can extend beyond curriculum, and school leaders should be wary of that tension and always be considering ways to mitigate it.
Administrators seeking to ensure strong and constructive relationships with state bodies can find models to emulate. In Montana, a partnership between several colleges, employers, and the state’s Labor Department led to the start of a new apprenticeship program that targeted building skills to help solve worker shortages in the state. The collaboration managed to balance the needs of industry, which had a workforce that can be tapped, and the institutions, who have a pool of students whose tuition is paid for. With similar communication between the state and schools, collaboration concerning curricula can also be substantive. While professors are the most knowledgeable in their field, students must have the freedom to be able to transfer from community college, and the state should be able to consider how curricula in a public college or university can best serve to offer the state a strong return on investment.