CONNECTION NEW ENGLAND’S JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VOLUME XV, NUMBER 3 WINTER 2001 $3.95 Colleges In Their Places

Housing Dilemmas Confound College Towns Progressive Approaches to University-Community Relations Unleashing the Intellectual Power of New England Communities

Also In This Issue ... Clifford Adelman on How Tales from Elite Colleges Skew Public Perception Distance Learning and New England’s Forests Myths about Online Colleges Selected Websites Volume XV, No. 3 CONNECTION Winter 2001 NEW ENGLAND’S JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

COMMENTARY

24 Putting on the Glitz How Tales from a Few Elite Institutions Form America’s Impressions about Higher Education Clifford Adelman 31 Of Pines and Pixels Distance Learning and Forestry in New England Charles H.W. Foster and Edmund T. Cranch 34 Seven Myths about Online Colleges: Cover photo by Rebecca Deans. A View from Inside Robert V. Antonucci 36 New England Futures COVER STORIES Higher Education Prepares for Change Eleanor M. McMahon 11 Good Neighbors? 39 Regional Druggists From Soaring Rents to Sour Relations, Pharmacy Schools Seek Rx for Shortage Housing Dilemmas Confound Wendy Lindsay New England College Towns N. Sean Bowditch DEPARTMENTS 14 Dorm City College Students Put Pressure on 5 Editor’s Memo Boston’s Housing Market John O. Harney Shirley Kressel 6 Short Courses 19 Progressive Approaches to University-Community Relations 45 Books The Town-Gown Story in Burlington Test Culture Standardized Minds reviewed Peter Clavelle by Alan R. Earls Virtual Economics Dollars, Distance and Online 21 College Town Ventures Education reviewed by Joseph M. Cronin Investors Look to Unleash the Intellectual K-12 Partnerships The Learning Connection Power of New England Communities reviewed by Joseph M. Cronin Matt Harris and Bo Peabody 48 Campus: News Briefly Noted 50 Selected Websites 52 Data Connection

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 3 EDITOR’S MEMO CONNECTION niversity of Hartford President Walter Harrison has written a won- NEW ENGLAND’S JOURNAL derfully thought-provoking short piece in the winter issue of the uni- OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Uversity’s Observer about the bygone era when a group of Hartford corporate CEOs known as “the bishops” would meet at the Hartford Club to CONNECTION: NEW ENGLAND’S JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT decide the city’s civic priorities and find ways to fund them. Over the more is published four times a year by the New England torpid recent history of Hartford, their companies merged, folded or fled, but Board of Higher Education, 45 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111-1325 Phone: 617.357.9620 not before the bishops managed to nurture such critical Hartford institutions Fax: 617.338.1577 as the Wadsworth Atheneum, the University of Hartford, Hartford Hospital Email: [email protected] and Trinity College. Vol. XV, No. 3 Winter 2001 In this way, big corporations—though highly paternalistic and often ISSN 0895-6405 Copyright © 2001 by the New England Board oblivious to urban ethnic concerns—served as the bedrock of economic and of Higher Education. civic life in communities like Hartford through the 1970s. But no longer. “The

Publisher: John C. Hoy new bedrocks of our communities,” Harrison concludes, “will be the large, Executive Editor: John O. Harney nonprofit organizations, the hospitals and universities located there. We are Assistant Editor: Susan W. Martin Editorial Intern: N. Sean Bowditch not moving. We are, by our very nature, anchored in and devoted to our com- Director of Publications: Charlotte Stratton munities; and as our economy shifts, we are increasingly the stable eco- Design and Production: The Publication Group nomic support our communities need.” Advertising Sales and But engage academics in a discussion of what shape this support might Marketing Coordinator: Christine Quinlan take, and the conversation will invariably circle back to “core mission.” Subscription Information: $20 per year (4 issues); Above all, one will say earnestly, colleges contribute to their communities by regular issues $3.95 each; annual FACTS issue $14.95. preparing students for work and life. Problem is, while a lot of institutions were pursuing that noble goal behind their ivy walls, adjacent neighborhoods Advertising rates are available upon request. were becoming blighted and, in some cases, deadly. When those conditions CONNECTION is printed in New England. CONNECTION began to scare off prospective students, modern-day bishops at Trinity is indexed in PAIS International and in ERIC’s Current Index to Journals in Education. CONNECTION is College in Hartford and Clark University in Worcester, to name two famous available in microform and electronically from examples, launched multimillion-dollar neighborhood revitalization projects. University Microfilms, 800 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. A cumulative index of CONNECTION Other New England colleges and universities are more quietly mobilizing articles and abstracts of recent articles are accessible their intellectual resources and public service-minded students to help their on the World Wide Web at www.nebhe.org. host communities improve K-12 education, untangle health-care issues and The New England Board of Higher Education is a bolster economic development. Their contributions to the community run nonprofit, congressionally authorized, interstate agency whose mission is to foster cooperation and the efficient the gamut from progressive experiments, like the recent joint initiative by use of resources among New England’s approximately Springfield Technical Community College and Springfield College to train 280 colleges and universities. NEBHE was established by the New England Higher Education Compact, a 1955 students in physical and occupational therapy while providing rehab ser- agreement among the states of Connecticut, Maine, vices to Greater Springfield residents whose insurance benefits have run Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. NEBHE operates a variety of programs for out, to no-brainers like Harvard’s recent announcement that it will now New England students, including the tuition-saving afford Cambridge residents free admission to its world-class art museums. Regional Student Program, and advances regional discussion of critical issues through a conference series Campuses also face a host of more mundane but vexing town-gown chal- and the quarterly journal, CONNECTION. lenges such as how to responsibly house students in the community—one ONNECTION Chair: Nancy I. Chard, Chair, Senate Education focus of this issue of C . Committee, Vermont Legislature To be sure, one barrier to becoming good neighbors is the system of President: John C. Hoy rewards in higher education. Professors need to do research and outreach to earn promotion and tenure. But work in the local community tends not to CONNECTION Editorial Advisory Board count for much. One Yale administrator recently conceded that most faculty Kenneth Hooker would rather focus their outreach on New York City, or Sri Lanka for that Columnist, Boston Globe matter, than on the mean streets of New Haven’s Hill neighborhood. Richard Barringer Professor, University of Southern Maine Other challenges loom. How, for example, will the burgeoning field of dis- Laura Freid tance learning alter the relationship between town and gown? Bristol Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Community College, for one, has capitalized on technology to reach under- University Relations, Brown University served local audiences with a Web-based, one-credit course on the history of Betsy Keady Market Director, The Forum Corp. Southern New England, particularly Fall River. But newer, totally virtual col- Arnold Koch leges are not anchored anywhere, and some have worked hard to elude reg- Arnold Koch and Associates ulatory oversight, let alone community obligations. Thomas L. McFarland At the barest level, failure to live up to Harrison’s vision will cost institu- Former Director, University Press of New England tions goodwill and perhaps their cherished tax exemptions. Aloof colleges Ian Menzies Hingham, Mass. will be put in their places as it were. May this issue help them out. Neil Rolde Sewall’s Hill, Maine John O. Harney is executive editor of CONNECTION.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 5 SHORT COURSES

Bridgework to help people in Boston access $624,803 grant from the National Hampshire College is located about the Internet. And with millions of Science Foundation to work with the 10 miles from the industrial city of Americans getting health and medical Massachusetts Software and Internet Holyoke, Mass. But in many ways, information online, the National Council on a study of factors affect- the college, where one junior runs Cancer Institute has begun funding ini- ing the attraction and retention of a software development business in tiatives such as a Yale Cancer Center women to the burgeoning IT field. his free time, and the hardscrabble program providing computer access city are on opposite sides of the and training to low-income families Laptopped so-called Digital Divide. Now, at New Haven Head Start facilities. In October, the Massachusetts Board Hampshire is among a growing Parents who complete the course will of Higher Education approved a plan number of New England higher receive free Internet-ready computers. requiring all public college and uni- education institutions launching new Several New England universities versity students to own laptop com- programs to bridge that divide sepa- are also confronting another digital puters and providing vouchers for rating those with Internet access and chasm—the lack of minority and low-income students to buy them. skills from those without. female involvement in technology The three-year plan calls for With a two-year, $80,000 grant development. The new Institute spending $54 million to subsidize the from WorldCom, Hampshire faculty for African-American ECulture at laptops, $27 million to train faculty and students are helping young peo- Northeastern University, in collabora- in instructional technology and $42 ple in Holyoke create their own news tion with Boston University, has million to upgrade campus facilities journal on the World Wide Web, and received $3.2 million from the National for Internet connections. State offi- in the process, mentoring them in Science Foundation to study and pro- cials estimated that after the first journalism, community leadership, mote African-American involvement three years, the state would spend entrepreneurship, digital photography in developing new technologies. The about $62 million annually to buy and website design. The news jour- Radcliffe Public Policy Institute, mean- 25,000 laptops and provide vouchers nal will promote community involve- while, has been awarded a three-year, to 18,000 students. ment, highlight ongoing community revitalization efforts and offer a show- Snippets case for youth artwork and writing. “Prior to Ed Reform, there were two state-imposed requirements to get a The project also will familiarize high school diploma in the state of Massachusetts—one year of American Holyoke youth with a range of impor- history and four years of gym.” tant job skills and potential career —Massachusetts state Senate President Thomas Birmingham referring to paths, and will acquaint Hampshire the state’s 1993 Education Reform Act at a May 2000 MassINC conference students with both the challenges and on the controversial Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, which grew out of the legislation. the potential of urban communities struggling to overcome the Digital “MCAS encompasses the types of skills—especially writing and analytical Divide. (A hard copy of the digital thinking—that colleges like to see in entering freshmen.” newsletter will be produced to reach —Mass Insight Education in a March 2000 report titled the many Holyoke residents who don’t “MCAS and the College-Bound Student.” own computers and to motivate them to visit neighborhood libraries and “The MCAS test is difficult not because it is intellectually rigorous or valu- community centers and use the able, but because it is long, tedious and filled with ambiguities and trivia.” —Massachusetts Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education (CARE) Internet—maybe for the first time.) responding to November 2000 release of MCAS test scores. Under other WorldCom grants, Quinnipiac University is helping “High-stakes testing often harms students’ daily experience of learning, dis- sixth-graders in Hamden, Conn., places more thoughtful and creative curriculum, diminishes the emotional videotape interviews with residents well-being of educators and children, and unfairly damages the life-chances of a local nursing home and use the of members of vulnerable groups.” interviews to develop a website, —From a resolution passed by the National Council of while Brown students are helping the Teachers of English in November 2000. local Mount Hope Learning Center * * * * “I don’t think education should be considered a market good any more than create a public history initiative and health care should be. ... Do we want our higher education system to be as develop neighborhood-specific con- screwed up as our health-care system?” tent for the Web. —Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis speaking at a December More recently, the University of 2000 conference on “Higher Education and New England’s Future,” spon- Massachusetts Boston has received sored by the Education Commission of the States, The Futures Project at more than $1 million from the Brown University and the New England Board of Higher Education. Corporation for National Service

6 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION SHORT COURSES

Keene’s Sense of Safety By creating a realistic substitute for on-street driving,“simulation” helps experienced drivers safely practice driving in hazardous situations.This driving simulator is being installed in Keene State College’s new Safety Simulation Center. The center will also house a confined-space lab for simulating entrance into manholes and mines and a ventilation lab to provide practical training in welding and chemical hood ventilation. More than 200 Keene State students major in safety studies.

The Old Tuition Story while Rhode Island’s poor kids get Spencer, associate vice president for Tuition and mandatory fees contin- inadequate aid,” observed Robert J. higher education policy at Harvard ued their upward climb in academic McKenna, president of the Rhode Island University. “But now the state and fed- year 2000-01, according to the Independent Higher Education eral governments have piled on merit College Board’s annual tuition study Association. aid too,” she said, warning that merit- released in the fall. Six New England Now, Rhode Island College has based tax credit schemes could grow colleges and universities are among announced it will offer merit-based faster than need-based Pell Grants. Presidential Scholarships worth at the nation’s 10 most expensive pri- * * * * vate institutions; two New England least $2,000 per year for freshmen Yale University, meanwhile, has universities—the University of and transfer students, beginning in extended its longstanding need-blind Ver mont and the University of New fall 2001. The renewable scholarships admissions policy to foreign students Hampshire—are among the nation’s will be available to incoming freshmen for the first time. Yale joins Harvard 10 most expensive public campuses, who rank in the top 30 percent of in admitting foreign students without charging state residents $8,288 and their high school class and receive regard to financial need and pledging $7,395, respectively. combined SAT scores of at least 1050; to provide sufficient need-based finan- transfer students must have a grade Average One-Year cial aid to cover the cost of attending. point average of at least 3.5. The state Tuition/Fees Change earmarked $200,000 for the scholar- U.S. 4-Year Publics $3,510 +4% ships in the first year and pledged to U.S. 4-Year Privates $16,332 +5% increase the amount by $200,000 in Diverse Boards U.S. 2-Year Publics $1,705 +3% each of the next three years. New England’s prestigious colleges U.S. 2-Year Privates $7,458 +7% “It’s one thing for institutions to and universities offer a mixed bag offer targeted merit aid programs for when it comes to appointing black mission fulfillment,” noted A. Clayton trustees, according to a new survey Needless Incentives? New England’s public colleges and universities want valedictorians and Tightwads salutatorians, and they’ll pay to get What do charities and public higher education have in common? They are them. The State of Connecticut two things New Englanders generally do not spend their money on. The six wants information technology states capture remarkably similar, bottom-of-the-barrel rankings in both majors, and it too will pay to get generosity, as measured by Catalogue of Philanthropy founder George them. But higher education experts McCully’s Generosity Index, and in support of public higher education, as who gathered at a recent conference measured in terms of state tax funds appropriated to public higher education on “Higher Education and New per $1,000 of income. McCully’s index compares a state’s wealth with its England’s Future,” sponsored by the charitable giving. Education Commission of the States, Generosity Public Support of Higher Ed the Futures Project at Brown Connecticut 45th 45th University and the New England Maine 29th 35th Board of Higher Education, say the Massachusetts 50th 48th “merit aid” used to lure top students New Hampshire 49th 50th is exacerbating inequities. Rhode Island 46th 44th “Valedictorians at the University of Rhode Island get full freight, Vermont 30th 49th

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 9 SHORT COURSES by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Comings and Goings after 10 years. ... Connecticut College Education. Former Smith College President Provost and Dean of the Faculty Of the 813 trustees of America’s Ruth J. Simmons was named presi- David K. Lewis was appointed 25 highest-ranking liberal arts dent of Brown University, becoming the acting president, replacing Claire L. colleges, 76 or 9 percent are black. first woman and first African-American Gaudiani who announced she would Wesleyan University leads the group to lead an Ivy League institution. ... retire in June after 12 years as presi- with six black trustees, accounting Wilfredo Nieves, former vice presi- dent. ... Geoffrey Gamble stepped for 20 percent of the 30-member dent for academic affairs at Baltimore down as University of Vermont board. Amherst College is second City Community College, was appointed provost to become president of with blacks accounting for 19 president of Middlesex Community Montana State University. ... Former percent of trustees. But Middlebury, College of Connecticut, replacing Dartmouth College President James O. Sharon Hart who became president of Connecticut and Colby colleges are Freedman was elected president North Dakota State College of Science. among the six major U.S. liberal of the Cambridge, Mass.-based ... Former St. Anselm College President arts colleges with just one black American Academy of Arts & Joachim Froehlich, who served most trustee each. Sciences. ... American Council on Among the 1,277 trustees of the recently as president of Loras College in Education President Stanley O. nation’s 27 “highest-ranking univer- Iowa, was named president of the Ikenberry announced he would sities,” 83 or 7 percent are black. College of Our Lady of the Elms, replac- retire in June after five years, to Cornell University leads the nation ing Sr. Kathleen Keating who will with seven black trustees; Brown retire in July 2001. ... University of return to the faculty of the University University has six, tied for second Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. ... with Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins. David K. Scott announced he would Mary Anne Schmitt, former chief Brown, Harvard and Yale are among step down in June 2001 after eight operating officer of New American the 10 high-ranking universities years as president. ... Johnson State Schools, became president of the 10- where blacks make up at least 10 College President Robert Hahn year-old, nonprofit school reform out- percent of trustees. announced he would retire in June fit, replacing Donald M. Feuerstein.

10 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION GoodGood Neighbors?

F rom Soaring Rents to Sour Relations, Housing Dilemmas Confound New England College Towns

N. SEAN BOWDITCH

ozens of Free Pizza Delivery! fliers and copies of Just D Rentals swirl like tumble- weeds outside the entrance to the Asian Sunrise Market in Boston’s Allston- Brighton section. Around the corner on Linden Street, the guitar strains of REM blare from an open window; Budweiser cans litter a grassless lawn. College stu- dents lounge in groups on front stoops.

ON SATURDAY NIGHT, they will pack Harpers Ferry to hear live blues. After 2 a.m., when the bars close, the walls of Allston-Brighton’s neat, single-family homes and triple-deckers will vibrate to the bassline of all-night keg parties. By morning, longtime neighbor- hood residents and new immigrants from Southeast Asia and Russia will curse their common threat: the annual onslaught of house-partying, non-voting, rent- swelling college students. For years, civic leaders have talked up the over- whelmingly positive impact of New England’s 280 colleges and universities and their 800,000 students. But across the region, the effects of colleges on hous- ing are increasingly problematic, and keg parties are the least of the problem.

PHOTO BY REBECCA DEANS. CONNECTION WINTER 2001 11 The issues are myriad. Despite evidence that living Coming Back on campus provides more opportunities for students In New Haven, Conn., Yale University officials remind to interact with peers and faculty members and take visiting luminaries to stay with university-provided part in extracurricular activities, large numbers of escorts as they walk from business meeting to evening students—either by choice or due to lack of dorm cocktail reception. The same urban problems—namely, space—seek out scarce housing in the community. crime and drugs—that make Yale so security-conscious, Of Boston’s 135,000 undergraduate and graduate have pushed many families out of New Haven. Nearly students, fewer than 29,000 live in campus housing 8,000 residents, representing 6 percent of the population, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. have left in the past decade, leaving behind bankrupt The others, many bankrolled by their parents, are businesses and shuttered brownstones. The city’s chief willing to pay more for relatively low-quality apart- housing problem is characterized oxymoronically as ments, thus putting upward pressure on rents. The “undercrowding.” average monthly rent of a two-bedroom apartment in Similar problems have plagued Hartford, where Boston rose by 7 percent from 1998 to 2000, to near Trinity College has captured national attention with $1,600, according to the city’s Department of its $175 million revitalization of the once-decaying neigh- Neighborhood Development. That’s about $450 per borhood adjacent to its campus. Working with area month higher than the maximum allowed under the banks and state and city agencies, Trinity has provided federal Section 8 program for low-income renters. low-interest mortgages to encourage home ownership, With Boston’s housing vacancy rate at a slender developed housing rehabilitation projects and supported 3 percent, the flood of student renters leaves low- new housing construction. “We recognize that Trinity is income families with few places to live. And as more an institution in a living community,” Trinity President non-resident, and thus non-voting students move into Evan Dobelle recently told a Hartford conference on uni- an area, neighborhoods lose political leverage. (Ever versity/community relations. “As such, we have a duty hear of college students pressuring a city councilor and a responsibility as well as the moral authority to to fill potholes?) make a difference in the health of that community.” Ironically, recent college graduates hoping to work In Worcester, Mass., the neighborhood around in Boston find they are unable to do so because of the Clark University was losing population so fast that lack of affordable housing. In fact, nearly eight in 10 the local Catholic church reportedly experienced a 50 New Englanders surveyed by the John W. McCormack percent drop in collections. Clark forged a partnership Institute of Public Affairs at the University of with the community to form the Main South Community Massachusetts Boston cited housing costs as a major Development Corp.—another national model. The collab- obstacle to regional economic growth. orative has spearheaded several housing projects includ- ing the renovation of 170 affordable housing units and 14 triple-decker residences in the Main South neighborhood. A Clark homebuyer incentive program provides housing grants to staff members who buy in the neighborhood. And in a striking show of good faith, Clark converted one of the neighborhood’s rescued Victorian homes into its president’s residence. Even in less-populated sections of New England, housing issues are a point of contention between universities and communities. Explosive enrollment growth at the University of Vermont during the 1970s and ’80s created enormous pressure on the city of Burlington’s infrastructure and services, and relations with the city became, in the words of Mayor Peter Clavelle, “tense and acrimonious.” Similar frustrations exist in Amherst, Mass., where town officials say the University of Massachusetts enjoys a sort of “academic privilege.” Because UMass is a state-run entity, it is exempt from local zoning controls.

Selling Campus Life Community activists blame the colleges for Boston’s student housing problems. They say colleges prefer to use their available land and money to build additional academic and cultural facilities, and that college officials, in fact, view student housing as an economic

PHOTO BY REBECCA DEANS. PHOTO burden to be foisted onto the community.

12 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION PHOTO BY REBECCA DEANS. PHOTO

EVEN HISTORICALLYALL-COMMUTER, COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE TRYING TOCAPTURETHE RECRUITING POWER OF ON-CAMPUS LIVING.

But some evidence suggests otherwise. The Wall to upgrade one dorm. Even historically all-commuter, Street Journal recently swooned over the wave of new community colleges are trying to capture the recruit- superdorms—complete with maid service, cell phone ing power of on-campus living. Mount Wachusett stores, miniature golf and beauty salons—being built by Community College in Gardner, Mass., now offers Boston University and other institutions to woo prospec- students the opportunity to live in dorms at nearby tive student-consumers. Sasaki Associates, the Fitchburg State College. Watertown, Mass.- and San Francisco-based architec- Boston campuses have boosted the number of beds ture firm, is among those pushing quality student hous- by 59 percent since 1990—not enough, say activists in ing as a tool to recruit increasingly sophisticated Allston-Brighton and other Boston neighborhoods with freshmen and retain upperclassmen. “Students who have large student populations. Boston College houses a never shared a bedroom at home, who expect a high respectable 76 percent of its 9,000 undergraduates and degree of technological connectivity, who are interested plans to house an additional 10 percent over the next in living in a community of similarly focused classmates, five years, according to Paul White, BC’s associate or who are seeking a high level of convenience are vice president of state and community affairs. But unlikely to be satisfied by traditional dormitories,” activists say the college should do more to repatriate writes Sasaki Principal John Coons. the more than 2,000 undergraduates (and 4,700 gradu- Indeed, New England colleges and universities are ate students) now living off campus. on a dorm-building binge. The University of Boston University houses 75 percent of its 13,600 Connecticut began construction in November of an undergraduates on campus, and a new $83 million $18.5 million residence hall that will accommodate 450 dorm opened in September providing an additional students; Assumption College completed construction 817 beds. But students who opt out of BU’s housing this summer of two apartment-style residence halls; system in their sophomore year—perhaps in search of the University of Southern Maine next fall will open cheaper housing a few blocks away or to escape strict a new 224-room dorm; the University of Rhode Island campus rules—have no way back in. is in the midst of a $64 million initiative to upgrade Northeastern University recently opened two dorms 14 dorms over the next eight years; Plymouth State with more than 1,000 beds and is rehabilitating a 625- College is spending more than a half-million dollars unit complex for students as well as neighborhood

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 13 Dorm City

College Students Put Pressure on Boston’s Housing Market

SHIRLEY KRESSEL

oston’s critical housing shortage and soaring rents are exacerbated by the B housing policies of the city’s renowned higher education institutions. Thirty-five colleges and universities call Boston home; more than 90,500 of their 135,000 students live in the city, constituting about 15 percent of Boston’s popula- tion. Though these institutions bring valuable intellectual and cultural vibrancy to the city, the impact of this added housing pressure on Boston’s neighborhoods is a significant issue in town-gown relations. In 1990, only 21 percent of college students resid- PHOTO BY REBECCA DEANS. PHOTO ing in Boston were housed in dorms, leaving 67,000 students living in neighborhood housing stock. More residents. But in what the Boston Globe termed an than half of these students were concentrated in “admissions snafu” (and Northeastern called a “spike” three neighborhoods: the working- and middle-class in yield rates) nearly 25 percent more students than areas of Fenway/Kenmore and Allston-Brighton and were predicted accepted offers to attend the university the more upscale Back Bay/Beacon Hill. In those in fall 2000. The unexpected crush of 600 extra fresh- neighborhoods, students constituted large percent- men plunged scores of upperclassmen into the already- ages of the total population (63 percent in Fenway/ tight housing market of the nearby Fenway Kenmore, 27 percent in Allston-Brighton, and 26 neighborhood, where the Globe reported that rents percent in Back Bay/Beacon Hill) and significant rose by a staggering 15 percent last year. proportions of people living in neighborhood hous- Across the river in Cambridge, Harvard University ing (29 percent in Fenway/Kenmore, 22 percent in houses 98 percent of its undergraduates, but just over Allston-Brighton, and 17 percent in Back 30 percent of its graduate students. Cambridge Mayor Bay/Beacon Hill). Students also accounted for about Anthony Galluccio has been pushing Harvard to create 12 percent of the population in central Boston, graduate student housing with a low-income compo- Jamaica Plain and the South End. nent for Cambridge residents. “Why can’t graduate stu- By January 2000, with rents rising and commu- dents live with families of lesser incomes?” Galluccio nity pressure building, Boston colleges accelerated recently asked policymakers gathered at a Boston con- their construction of dormitory beds; the total ference sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute for a number rose by 10,500 or 59 percent to 28,500, New Commonwealth, adding, “We are who we are due while enrollment grew by 4,480 or 3.4 percent. in large part to the universities. But the neighborhoods Unfortunately, some of these beds were built on of this city are not suburbs of the universities.” land that could have been used for neighborhood Not that Harvard has ignored housing issues. The housing. For example, Northeastern University’s university’s Joint Center for Housing Studies helps Davenport Commons project was built on urban leaders in government, business and the nonprofit sec- renewal parcels on which residents who had been tors formulate effective housing policies. And a new displaced decades earlier hoped to rebuild. The $21 million university initiative provides low-interest university obtained the land from the Boston loans to Boston and Cambridge nonprofit organiza- Redevelopment Authority after much community tions to expand affordable housing. protest, and built units for 625 students, along with continued on page 18 60 units for neighborhood residents. Despite the

14 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION POSTCARD FROM BOSTON

INAGRADUALPROCESSOFDISPLACEMENT WITHOUT GENTRIFICATION, PRICES AND QUALITY OF LIFE PROGRESS INVERSELY AS THE NATURE OF NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE CHANGES. small victory for community housing, this dorm-to- loses political power as active voters leave, and local housing ratio will never rebuild the neighborhood. officials figure they can neglect residents’ needs with Colleges have also annexed many neighborhood build- impunity. ings for dormitory use, or, like Harvard University, have been acquiring large tracts of private and public land for academic expansion, reducing land available his situation is an enormous problem from for the community. The very concept of a “core cam- the neighborhood perspective, but city govern- pus” is now ambiguous, and campus boundaries can T ments and colleges share an interest in contin- scarcely be drawn when city-required Institutional uing the current pattern. Master Plans are prepared. For colleges, student housing is an economic bur- At last count, nearly 107,000 students in Boston’s den; schools prefer to use precious campus land for colleges still live in off-campus housing, 62,000 in development that more directly promotes their core Boston, and 45,000 in nearby suburbs. Even assuming mission. They bank land in surface parking lots and that three students lived in each unit, college students inexpensive, often would occupy more than 20,000 of Boston’s “temporary” build- 250,000 housing ings. As they units. Meanwhile, expand, they use overall housing in it for building acad- the city has emic facilities and increased by fewer prestigious cultural than 5,000 units in and athletic the past decade. venues, which are In the areas of more likely than highest student con- dorms to attract centration, the imbal- large donors and ance damages the research money. neighborhood fabric. Moreover, stu- The issue here is not dent beds can students behaving be located any- badly, but the actual where, with the occupancy of scarce burdens of pro- neighborhood housing viding mundane services and stock. Thousands of policing and dealing with occupancy fluctuations, students take up apartments and houses in a city with which may lead to underutilization or shortages, all an estimated shortfall of 40,000 housing units. shifted to municipal government. (It’s an analogue of Landlords buy spacious houses suitable for families, cities and suburbs. Cities want to have gleaming office then chop them up, sometimes irreversibly, into stu- towers and cultural centers and entertainment zones dent cubbies. Students group up and, wielding their and commercial emporia, which generate money and parents’ money, bid rents beyond the reach of working- prestige, but they are happy to let the suburbs carry class (and even middle-class) families. In a gradual the housing, with all its concomitant demand for process of displacement without gentrification, prices schools and trash pick-up. In fact, they effectively and quality of life progress inversely as the nature of force housing out by creating far more favorable regu- neighborhood life changes. A once-diverse commercial latory and financial incentives in town for “economic spectrum narrows to a pizza-beer-futon mix; in sum- development” and “world-class” icons.) mer, it’s a ghost town that threatens small businesses. Many colleges have policies encouraging or requir- The exodus of neighborhood residents, meanwhile, ing students to live off campus. Some deliberately breaks up stable communities where families had lived maintain a dormitory shortfall; many price housing together for generations. The infrastructure of commu- uncompetitively with neighborhood housing stock, nity withers as churches, schools and civic associa- requiring off-campus living by junior or senior year. tions lose membership. Ultimately, the neighborhood (One college awards its limited campus housing to the

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 15 IFSTUDENTSANDCOLLEGEINFRASTRUCTURE CONTINUE TO DILUTE NEIGHBORHOODS, THE BALANCE WILL “TIP,” AND THE RESULTING “COLLEGE TOWN,” LESS RICHLY COMPLEX AND DIVERSE, WILL BE LESS ATTRACTIVE IN RECRUITING FUTURE STUDENTS AND FACULTY.

best students, an obvious negative for neighborhoods However, the effect is likely to be gentrification of the who get the others.) These policies not only preserve immediate “buffer zone,” displacing local residents but campus land for the “highest and best use,” but pro- not addressing the underlying economic problems of vide planning flexibility for schools to adjust their disinvested neighborhoods. Such University Districts, enrollment to suit economic and demographic shifts. like Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), tend to Neighborhood housing is thus used to buffer these privatize community planning, absolve publicly contingencies. accountable municipal governments of their service From the city administration’s perspective, on the responsibilities and ultimately diminish the communi- other hand, students are ideal citizens: temporary ty’s capacity for self-determination by increasing denizens who demand few city services and don’t med- dependence on the beneficence of their institutional dle in local political affairs. Students spend money, sponsors. Colleges have professional staff and then leave. They are essentially long-term tourists— resources to devote to these planning activities; neigh- a near-perfect “virtual population” for public officials borhoods have only lay volunteers to guard community trying to minimize their public service burden and interests. And just as a BID is in fact a District formed maximize local spending. to Improve Business, rather than a District to be Ironically, residents in the most heavily student- Improved by Businesses, a “U-District,” when interests occupied areas now resist new housing construction, conflict, will choose to improve the U. fearing it will just bring in more students and further Nor does the answer lie in various “community ben- inflate rents. In any case, the most afflicted Boston efit” proposals, such as making monetary contribu- neighborhoods are older downtown areas that are tions for each off-campus student to an affordable relatively built out, so that the imbalance is even more housing trust, funding of community amenities such as difficult to rectify with new housing. parks, donations of college scholarships, grade-school sponsorships and other public education functions or sponsorship of neighborhood planning processes or e must be particularly wary of simple solu- other public services. These benefits create counter- tions. For example, dorm-building followed productive incentives for municipalities to accommo- W by enrollment increases, as we have seen at date college plans over neighborhood needs, and erode several colleges, will never help achieve an appropriate municipal responsibility for public services. And they student-neighborhood balance. usually are expected to serve as bargaining chips for Also inappropriate are town-gown “partnerships” colleges whose plans are resisted by the neighborhood. wherein colleges become Community Development Most commonly, colleges offer to create long-term Corporations using neighborhood (often public) land plans to gradually increase the proportion of students and other public subsidies to build dormitories com- housed on campus. But over the decade or more that it bined with neighborhood housing. Nonprofit institu- may take institutions to carry out these plans, urban tions already receive tax, zoning and other benefits neighborhoods can suffer irreversible damage. For such as low-interest loans; it is important to devote example, Boston University, the largest in the city with those privileges fully to new neighborhood housing over 30,000 students, recently announced the opening and not to allow institutions to double-dip while pro- of a new dormitory complex, which would free up an ducing a token amount of housing packaged into a estimated 300 apartments in Allston-Brighton. BU now larger dormitory project. houses 75 percent of its undergraduates on campus— There are problems, too, when colleges “give back” a goal the school set for itself in 1986. This still leaves to urban communities by rehabilitating neglected com- 3,400 BU undergraduates and thousands of its gradu- mercial and residential buildings in the name of neigh- ate students to seek apartments in the neighborhoods. borhood “revitalization.” These efforts generally Even if all the colleges in Boston set an overall goal of provide housing for faculty, and make the school 85 percent on-campus housing, some 10,000 students appear safer and more appealing to prospective stu- would remain in local housing, occupying thousands dents and staff who fear “inner city” neighborhoods. of apartments concentrated in a few neighborhoods.

16 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION And expanding enrollments and rising proportions of boarding versus commuting students make even New England College Towns this target elusive. The city uses colleges as economic and cultural About two-thirds of New England’s 795,000 engines, but if we continue to accommodate col- full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate lege housing policies, we will lose vested, cohesive neighborhoods of people who make it a living city. students attend college within the borders of Colleges, in turn, use the city as an extended the following cities and towns: campus, constantly expanding geographically and operationally. But if students and college infra- NUMBER OF TOTAL structure continue to dilute neighborhoods, the CITY INSTITUTIONS ENROLLMENT balance will “tip,” and the resulting “college town,” less richly complex and diverse, will be less attrac- Boston, Mass. 42 136,900 tive in recruiting future students and faculty. These complementary economic strategies— Cambridge, Mass. 6 46,930 college land-banking and city “resi-temps”—will be costly in the end. Already, students cannot find Providence, R.I. 6 36,200 affordable housing here when they graduate and join the workforce. For colleges, this is a sad loss New Haven, Conn.4 29,780 of their graduate community, and a recruiting Amherst, Mass.3 27,890 problem as well. The city loses an invaluable asset: its educated labor force. Worcester, Mass. 8 24,840

Storrs, Conn. 1 22,240 o solve the problem, the city should require colleges to provide on-campus Warwick, R.I. 2 18,210 housing at least for undergraduates T Springfield, Mass. 5 17,880 (graduate student housing needs a more detailed analysis) before other institutional buildings are Manchester, N.H. 6 17,080 permitted. And schools should commit to full on- campus housing before enrollments are increased. Lowell, Mass.2 15,040 Colleges that don’t have enough land to build more student housing should limit their non-com- Kingston, R.I. 1 14,580 muter enrollment, just as other types of developers must limit their program to match their resources. Durham, N.H. 1 13,230 There must be a concerted effort among all the schools, so no single institution need fear “unilat- Burlington, Vt. 4 13,040 eral disengagement” that would merely give up to Portland, Maine 4 12,560 others the available housing resources. Colleges as well as neighborhoods will benefit New Britain, Conn. 1 11,900 from playing by such rules. Students living within their academic community will enjoy the out-of- Fairfield, Conn. 2 10,700 class learning and socializing that is the most lasting educational experience. And campus Waltham, Mass.2 10,240 extracurricular activities will find a new popula- tion of participants and audience. Orono, Maine 1 9,950 Colleges and communities each have to be Medford, Mass. 1 9,190 responsible parties in maintaining the delicate balance of their differing needs. They depend on Bridgewater, Mass. 1 8,960 each other, and, like members of any ecological system, must learn to support each other as West Hartford, Conn. 2 8,620 they grow. Hartford, Conn. 5 8,150 Shirley Kressel, a landscape architect and urban designer, is president and co-founder Source: New England Board of Higher Education; unpublished of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods. FACTS 2001 survey data.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 17 continued from page 14 changing. Yale’s extraordinarily community service- minded students staff neighborhood programs, help out in city classrooms and conduct research on issues Hillside Living such as home ownership. And the university’s six- Ver monters love Burlington because it’s so close to year-old homebuyer program offers faculty and staff Ver mont. The point of the old joke, of course, is that $25,000 over 10 years, plus a $5,000 bonus, to help the cosmopolitan little city on Lake Champlain has them buy homes in New Haven and live in the city. very un-Vermont qualities and now, due to the That, on top of the city’s depressed real estate val- University of Vermont’s growth, a very un-Vermont ues—the Yale administration newspaper recently list- problem: lack of space. At a New England Board of ed a seven-room Victorian with 2.5 baths, leaded glass Higher Education (NEBHE) conference on campus doors, deck, balcony, and a two-car garage for housing issues, Mayor Clavelle described how UVM’s $179,000—is bringing people back to the city. Nearly growth affected the city: “Residential streets became parking lots, neighborhoods became extensions of 300 Yale employees have taken advantage of the home- campus housing and student behavior eroded quality buyer program since its inception. of life.” Since 1996, Yale’s overall purchases in New In 1998, UVM hired a local real estate firm to study Haven—not just real estate—have increased by 23 per- the impact of students on the rental market in cent. Yale has tried particularly hard to breathe life Burlington. The study concluded that 2,566 students into the city’s impoverished Hill and Dwight neighbor- from UVM, plus a few hundred from St. Michael’s and hoods. The university has contributed $150,000 to the Champlain colleges and the now-defunct Trinity Hill Housing Revitalization project, which aims to College, lived in Burlington. Of the 8,100 rental units rehabilitate 65 housing units for low- and middle- in the city, 1,150 or 16 percent of the total were income families. Yale also provides Hill residents with occupied by students. Though students have begun to job training programs at the Yale Psychiatric Institute seek housing farther out in Chittenden County, more and has equipped the Hill police substations with com- than 50 percent of those who live off campus reside in puters. Most recently, the university committed $2.4 Burlington’s Hill district known for its significant col- million—matched by $10 million from local business- lection of Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival es—to fund a new project focusing on home owner- style homes built by Burlington industrialists more ship, job training and the improvement of schools in than a century ago. As in Boston, students tend to live the Hill neighborhood. in large groups, occupying fully 31 percent of Yale is not the only college tackling housing woes Burlington’s three-bedroom units, 48 percent of four- in the Hill. Six graduate students from Southern bedroom units and more than 80 percent of five- or more bedroom units. Connecticut State College recently won a $5,000 prize The study also shows that, between 1993 and 1998, from Chase Manhattan Bank for their proposed inter- student demand for housing on the Hill increased generational housing project designed for New Haven rental prices by as much as 20 percent and forced the families in which grandparents are raising their grand- vacancy rate below 1 percent, compared with 8 per- children. Developed in collaboration with the nonprof- cent nationally. One newspaper noted that Burlington it Casa Otoñal Housing Corp. of New Haven, the landlords routinely receive 50 or more inquiries when 35-unit project will be only the second of its type in an apartment opens up, and often get more than the the country. rent they are asking for. Whether revitalizing whole neighborhoods or sim- Some Burlington leaders are eyeing the recently ply making good-faith efforts to house more students closed Trinity campus as a potential source of much- on campus, New England campuses from New Haven needed student housing, but UVM, focused on adding to Boston to Burlington are paying increased atten- apartment-style housing for upperclassmen, has passed tion to the critical issue of housing. Through a range on an opportunity to reuse the run-down Trinity dorms. of collaborative initiatives, colleges are encouraging Meanwhile, the seriousness of Burlington’s housing cri- faculty and staff to live in the community, promoting sis has led to unprecedented collaboration between UVM community service and educating off-campus students and city officials. “Town-Gown relations in Burlington in the art of being good neighbors. What’s at stake? are not all rosy,” Clavelle noted at the NEBHE confer- Just whether the institution on the hill and its stu- ence. “But they’re better than they’ve ever been.” dents will be viewed as an occupying army or as a Ivory Tower? resource for community-building. New Haven’s housing issues stem from urban decline. Yale, with its $6.6 billion endowment, has been an N. Sean Bowditch served as the fall 2000 island unto itself. Students live behind venerable cam- NEBHE/CONNECTION intern. He also worked as a fall pus gates, and faculty and staff travel to the city for 2000 newsroom intern at WBUR Radio, Boston’s work then return home to leafy suburbs. But that’s National Public Radio station.

18 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION POSTCARD FROM BURLINGTON Progressive Approaches to University-Community Relations

The Town–Gown Story of students on neighborhood quality of life. UVM also increased its on-campus parking, implemented an in Burlington extensive campus-area transportation system and involved the medical center and other local colleges in PETER CLAVELLE ongoing transportation planning and management. In addition, the university contributed significantly to the widening and reconstruction of Main Street, the major he City of Burlington (population 40,000) gateway to the city and the campus. is home to the University of Vermont, UVM also agreed in 1990 to provide on-campus hous- TChamplain College and Burlington College. ing for an additional 850 students. Over the years that UVM alone enrolls some 7,300 undergraduate students followed, however, some at UVM began to argue that and almost 9,000 students overall. With the university declining undergraduate enrollment prevented the univer- just a half-mile up the hill from the city center, sity from achieving a net increase in the on-campus stu- Burlington’s urban amenities—its arts and culture, dent population. It is worth noting that, when the 1990 restaurants, coffee houses and retail outlets—are within agreement was signed, Burlington’s rental housing vacan- easy reach of the campus. UVM students have a signifi- cy rate was about 5 percent; today that rate is less than cant, positive impact on our local economy. At the same one quarter of 1 percent. The effect of students in tighten- time, students have had a profound effect on rental ing this market was clearly documented in a 1998 study housing availability, rent levels and noise in the neigh- commissioned jointly by the city and the university, and borhoods adjacent to downtown and the university. the issue became an increasing source of tension. City concerns about student pressure on our rental While UVM–city relations have been at times con- housing market, on neighborhoods, and on traffic and tentious, we’ve made progress in the recent past. Last parking congestion peaked in the late 1980s as UVM’s year, UVM, under President Judith Ramaley, reached enrollment grew dramatically. Burlington attempted to an agreement with encourage and cajole the university into mitigating the city that some of the addresses the three impacts of its bur- most difficult chal- geoning student lenges affecting body—without town-gown rela- success. When tions: on-campus UVM submitted its housing, off-campus application for a student behavior new microbiology and UVM’s land- building, the city use policies. finally had the lever- The university age it needed to get agreed to build the attention of the on-campus hous- institution on the ing for an addi- hill. The Burlington tional 400 Zoning Board condi- students over tioned its 1989 and above the approval of the new number now residing on building on UVM’s campus. These units, which will be ready for occupancy providing additional on-campus student housing and no later than the fall of 2003, will provide some relief for parking. By March 1990, the city and the university low- and moderate-income renters, as well as for home- had entered into an agreement to address a range of owners who have long complained about the presence housing, parking and traffic issues. of large numbers of students living in homes intended As part of that agreement, UVM began requiring for families. UVM plans to form a partnership with pri- sophomores to join freshmen in living on-campus, and vate developers to create apartment-style housing, established programs to address the impact which will appeal to today’s college students.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 19 UVM AGREED NOT TO ACQUIRE PROPERTY THAT LIES OUTSIDE ITS CORE ACADEMIC AND RESIDENTIAL CAMPUSES. THE CITY PASSED A ZONING AMENDMENT ALLOWING THE UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP ITS CORE CAMPUS AT A HIGHER DENSITY AND AT GREATER LOT COVERAGE THAN PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED.

In a major change of policy, UVM also agreed to borhoods, we’ve taken other significant steps toward cooperate with the city in dealing with off-campus town-gown collaboration in a variety of areas. misconduct by UVM students. The city is establishing The city and the university have collaborated on the protocols to inform UVM of such misconduct. In Lake Champlain Basin Science Center. Opened in 1995, response to certain violations, UVM will take discipli- this waterfront-based center aims at educating residents nary action, and will report annually to the city its and visitors of all ages about the history, culture and responses to off-campus violations of local and state ecology of the Lake Champlain Basin. UVM’s new laws. This policy change will be a major deterrent Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory is an inte- against excessive noise, under-age drinking, public uri- gral part of the center. nation and other disturbances that are tearing at the And this past summer, when Burlington’s fabric of our downtown neighborhoods. Committee on Temporary Shelter asked for help hous- In response to concerns raised about the university ing as many as 20 homeless families, UVM made an expanding into neighboring residential areas, UVM otherwise vacant dormitory available. agreed not to acquire property that lies outside its core In 1998, the university applied for and was awarded academic and residential campuses. At the same time, $400,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of the city passed a zoning amendment allowing the uni- Housing and Urban Development’s Office of University versity to develop its core campus at a higher density Partnerships to establish the Community Outreach and at greater lot coverage than previously permitted. Partnership Center (COPC). The purpose statement of the UVM/Burlington COPC is worth quoting here: n addition to these legal agreements, we’ve main- “To create effective, reciprocal, sustainable partner- tained and expanded partnerships that address ships within UVM and among UVM, the City of Iproblems at their roots. The Good Neighbor Burlington, and residents and organizations of the Old Program, administered jointly by UVM’s Office of North End (and in surrounding low-income areas). Government Relations and by the Off-Campus Student The overall goal, in nurturing such partnerships, is to Organization, has made strides in enhancing communi- further the Old North End’s physical, economic, social cation among students and their neighbors. Each and political development, while advancing the univer- autumn, program volunteers distribute booklets detail- sity’s mission of service, education and research.” ing the rights and responsibilities of students living off Leveraging more than $1 million in total staff and campus. During the academic year, the program pro- service contributions from the university, the city and vides a hotline and conducts outreach to ease neighbor- local nonprofit organizations, COPC funding is sup- hood tensions. porting efforts to develop community leaders, increase The city’s Community Support Program began as a employment and income and promote fair and afford- collaborative initiative between UVM and the Burlington able housing. Ramaley has written that COPC offers Police Department aimed at mediating conflict in neigh- the university “a unique opportunity to redefine our borhoods with high student populations. The program working relationship with the City of Burlington.” I quickly evolved into a resource for resolving disputes believe that COPC has already begun to have that citywide. effect. We’re forging new working partnerships, not We’ve started to tackle the problem of binge drink- just between the administrations of the university and ing by students and other community members the city, but by involving citizens, businesses, nonprof- through a university-community partnership funded by it and service organizations—our entire community— the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This partner- in the process. ship has provided information to students, as well as In little more than a decade, town-gown relations in training for the management and staff of local liquor establishments. The project’s educational efforts, in Burlington have been transformed from a contentious conjunction with coordinated enforcement by standstill to dynamic collaboration. Burlington and Burlington Police and State Liquor Control Inspectors, UVM still have a way to go. But we’ve begun to recog- have begun to make a difference. Downtown rates of nize—and to put into practice the recognition—that various crimes associated with intoxication have we’ll only get there together. plummeted over the last year. Concurrent with our progress in mitigating negative Peter Clavelle is serving his fifth term as mayor impacts of a sizable population of students on city neigh- of Burlington, Vt.

20 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER GILLOOLY. BY CHRISTOPHER PHOTO

College TownVentVentuuresres Investors Look to Unleash the Intellectual Power of New England Communities

MATT HARRIS AND BO PEABODY

rian Rigney recalls the concerns he heard most often when he was looking for early-stage financing for BlueTarp, his Portland, Maine-based Internet startup. B “The VCs in Boston would ask me if Portland really was a six-hour drive,” says Rigney. “The other thing we heard, whether it was from venture capitalists in Boston or on Sand Hill Road, was: ‘Sure, we’ll fund you. But you’ll have to move.’”

RIGNEY’S ODYSSEY is typical for entrepreneurs who capital dollars in the United States are invested in just want to build businesses in communities that lie 10 geographic markets. beyond national venture capital centers. In the spring The venture capital scene in New England is a of 2000, BlueTarp received early-stage financing from microcosm of the national picture. Thanks to the fer- Williamstown, Mass.-based Village Ventures Inc., and tile corridors around Routes 128 and 495, Boston from its affiliate fund in Maine. The money enabled the ranks second among U.S. metro areas in venture capi- company to roll out its business model. BlueTarp offers tal with $6.4 billion invested in 1999. The rest of the a purchasing card that allows building contractors to region neither generates nor receives nearly that level buy materials at their local suppliers, view details of of seed funds. the purchases on the Internet, then download job-cost- ing information into their accounting systems. Beyond Boston Two-thirds of all early-stage venture capital is It’s no secret that a handful of major research universi- invested in companies within a one-hour drive of the ties around Boston have contributed significantly to venture capital firm’s offices. Because early-stage ven- the Massachusetts economy through research and ture capital investing is truly a local business, it is development (R&D)—about $1.1 billion worth at just highly concentrated. In fact, 76 percent of all venture 10 Boston-area colleges and universities in 1998.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 21 The economic impact is underscored by a recent $1 of venture capital invested in Boston, just 11 cents BankBoston report noting that faculty, students goes to those other promising New England communi- and graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of ties. This imbalance provides Village Ventures with a Technology (MIT)—which alone captured $413 million golden opportunity. in 1998 R&D funds—had founded Metro Boston com- Village Ventures has identified 50 markets that are panies with annual revenues exceeding $50 billion. as rich in intellectual capital as the current top 10 Boston’s technological power notwithstanding, venture markets but 25 percent cheaper to live in. R&D dollars are far more evenly distributed in New Primarily college towns or “second-tier cities,” they England than are venture capital dollars. Indeed, for are positioned to be the next Austins or Seattles in every $1 spent on R&D at Boston’s major research uni- terms of nurturing technology companies. What they versities, an additional 84 cents is spent at New are missing, and what Village Ventures is designed to England university labs outside the city. But for every deliver, is venture capital—not simply money, mind you, but also the business savvy, experience and net- working connections that venture capital firms can How Village Ventures Began … bring to the companies they fund. Village Ventures is an operating company that man- In 1997, Matt Harris became the first fund man- ages a national network of early-stage venture capital ager for Williamstown, Mass.-based Berkshires funds and invests in the most promising companies Capital Investors (BCI). emerging from those portfolios. As of November 2000, Investors in the $5 million fund included local Village Ventures had 35 employees and was operating individuals and institutions, as well as Williams nine early-stage venture capital funds in seven states. College. Among the companies seeded by BCI The firm has six funds in New England, which are are Tripod Inc. (co-founded by Village Ventures located in Williamstown, Amherst and Worcester, co-founder and chairman Bo Peabody and subse- Mass., Providence, R.I., Burlington, Vt., and Portland. quently sold to Lycos Inc. for $58 million), The typical fund is $10 million to $15 million and is Employease Inc. (named one of the 100 most focused on early-stage investments in technology-dri- important private companies in the world by Red ven companies like BlueTarp. Herring magazine last spring), and MindBranch Inc. (Village Ventures led a group that invested Building Businesses $18.5 million to acquire a controlling interest in Early-stage venture capital investing can have an enor- MindBranch in August). mous impact on local economies. A 1999 study by the BCI fund I, which has had an annual rate of Arizona Venture Capital Association found that $1 million return greater than 60 percent, has also had a of venture capital, over five years, will create 27 per- noticeable impact on the laggard northern manent jobs and generate $6 million of revenue in the Berkshires economy. The northern Berkshires community. has begun to experience a renaissance as BCI Still, it’s not easy to build successful, technology- companies continue to grow and succeed. These driven companies in nontraditional communities. companies now employ 750 people, 390 of whom These places tend to lack fundraising expertise; are based in Berkshire County, including many early-stage investment experience; professional service Williams College alumni and faculty spouses. providers, including technology experts, attorneys, (In November 2000, Cerida Corp., a BCI invest- marketers, recruiters and accountants; a network of ment, announced it was opening a regional office business contacts extending beyond the particular in southern Berkshire County that will create market who can provide advice and support; and 155 jobs). The companies in BCI fund I portfolio later-stage financing for successful startups. And larger funds want to invest within those 10 big VC also attracted over $150 million follow-on financ- centers. ing from other investors to the Berkshires over To overcome these deficiencies, Village Ventures the past three years. applies a four-step approach to building companies. Buoyed by the success of BCI, and convinced The firm identifies communities with high potential for that areas with intellectual capital could support launching technology companies and recruits managers successful businesses with the proper venture to oversee an investment fund in each market; helps its capital infusion, Harris and Peabody founded managers raise money from local limited partners and Village Ventures in January 2000. The company co-invests its own capital alongside its partner funds; was launched in June after it secured commit- provides both fund managers and entrepreneurs with ments of $80 million from Bain Capital, Highland extensive support in terms of technology, recruiting, Capital Partners and Sandler Capital branding, marketing, accounting and legal services; Management. and acquires significant interests in the most promising companies emerging from the network of funds.

22 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION R&D DOLLARS ARE FAR MOREEVENLYDISTRIBUTED IN NEW ENGLAND THAN ARE VENTURE CAPITAL DOLLARS. INDEED, FOR EVERY $1 SPENT ON R&D AT BOSTON’SMAJORRESEARCHUNIVERSITIES, AN ADDITIONAL 84 CENTS IS SPENT ATNEWENGLANDUNIVERSITYLABSOUTSIDETHECITY. BUT FOR EVERY $1 OF VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTED IN BOSTON, JUST 11 CENTS GOES TO THOSE OTHER PROMISING NEW ENGLAND COMMUNITIES.

One of the most important attributes of the Village mitted $7 million to four Village Ventures funds in New Ventures offering is the strength of its network. The England. Banknorth not only expects high returns on network concept overcomes the “island fever” that the its investments, but also sees a chance to invest in the lone VC or entrepreneur in a nontraditional venture communities in which it is chartered and to create market is exposed to. Not only do fund managers have greater wealth for its customers. The locally chartered easy access to consultants and support personnel at banks of Banknorth stand to add to the commercial Village Ventures, they also can reach out to one anoth- client roster of their organizations as local entrepre- er for shared experience. To increase information flow neurs expand their companies. This investment allows and encourage collaboration, Village Ventures is build- Banknorth to spread its risk across multiple funds in ing a proprietary software package to facilitate com- different markets managed by different individuals. munication within the network. Quarterly meetings for Negotiations are underway with other banks for simi- all fund managers will further strengthen the Village lar investments. Ventures community. Village Ventures funds and portfolio companies are Boon for Berkshires giving back to the community. Village Ventures, BCI Local institutions are positioned to reap many benefits and portfolio companies of both banded together to by investing in early-stage ventures. Williams College, form the Prospect Foundation, seeded with $1 million for example, has invested $4 million in Berkshires and pledged securities expected to yield in excess of Capital Investors (BCI), an early-stage venture capital $10 million, to train Berkshire County youth in the fund that is the prototype for the Village Ventures net- skills they need to benefit from the emergence of tech- work of funds. Williams invested in BCI expecting both nology industries in the area. The foundation’s classes a strong return on its investment and a boost for sus- will be held at the Massachusetts Museum of tainable development in the northern Berkshires. Contemporary Art in North Adams, Mass.— “The school has certainly seen direct financial gain Williamstown’s gritty neighbor that was economically from the collaboration, but there have been other impor- devastated by the loss of manufacturing jobs and is tant benefits as well,” says Williams College Vice now banking on growth in the technology sector. President of Administration Helen Ouelette. “The vitali- As the Village Ventures network expands into new ty of the local economy and the quality of life in the communities, it is attracting a number of highly quali- area, which are so important to our own vitality, are on fied fund managers, many of whom have learned their an upswing.” craft in urban areas and now seek to live and work in Williams is connected with BCI and Village Ventures communities where they see a better quality of life. on several levels. For example, Berkshire startups are The Village Ventures fund in Nashville is managed by creating new professional opportunities for the spouses Tuff Yen, a veteran venture capitalist from Silicon of Williams faculty and staff. Former Williams Professor Valley who moved to Tennessee when his wife took a Dick Sabot, a co-founder of eZiba.com, a website that teaching position at Vanderbilt University. By aligning allows consumers to purchase handcrafted artifacts itself with fund managers like Yen, Village Ventures is from around the world, sits on the board at Village Ventures. Says Oulette: “The success of the entrepre- attempting to unleash the intellectual capital of its tar- neurs from Williams—alumns, faculty and students— get markets. In doing so, the firm hopes to encourage reflects favorably on the college, and a number of them sustainable business development and a brighter eco- have been generous in giving back to the school.” nomic future for many places heretofore bypassed by Recognizing these benefits, other colleges, including the technology revolution, while it generates outstand- Hampshire, Middlebury and Worcester Polytechnic ing returns for its investors. Institute, have committed to invest in Village Ventures affiliate funds. Matt Harris and Bo Peabody are co-founders of Investors such as Banknorth Group have invested Village Ventures Inc. Kevin McCormack and Wilmot across multiple funds. In November, Banknorth com- Harkey of Village Ventures assisted with this article.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 23 Putting on the Glitz How Tales from a Few Elite Institutions Form America’s Impressions about Higher Education

CLIFFORD ADELMAN ILLUSTRATION BY RUSS BRENNEN OF THE PUBLICATION GROUP. THE PUBLICATION BY RUSS BRENNEN OF ILLUSTRATION

f you think our country understands its higher education system from behind a cultural screen. It may well, think again: what happens in America’s most elite institutions be natural for humans to live through the perfections of the few, and to dis- of higher education is what creates the body of public knowledge and I tance themselves from radical imper- attitude by which the 95 percent of us who live at less rarefied altitudes fections. But this cathexis is too easy are judged. Those who live at the top, grown comfortable by long exposure an excuse. to the climate, come to assume that the rise they stand upon is Mount Consider three headline-type sto- ries that serve as filters of public Sinai. They cannot and do not see below, cannot and do not imagine how knowledge about the state of higher the rest of the world lives. Unfamiliarity breeds an odd sort of contempt, education. In each case, our heads and lapses in integrity inevitably follow when the rules at the top (which and eyes are raised to worship at the are different) are threatened. As F. Scott Fitzgerald observed, “the rich tablets at the top of Mount Sinai. We see nothing else and, more seriously, are not like you or me.” The same can be said of the glitz of academe. we know nothing else. In each case, my more earthly We’re all unintentional collaborators information is drawn from the in this because we have made star- national college transcript samples in dom the national currency. We wor- the longitudinal studies of the U.S. ship at the altars of People magazine, Department of Education. Transcripts where nobody looks like anyone you contain the footprints in the forest: know. At the temple of the Final Four, they don’t lie, they don’t exaggerate, where nobody moves like anyone you and they don’t forget. know. Glitz is hot; the rest of us are not. A research proposal from a dis- Grade Inflation. Consider the past tinguished professor at an elite insti- 30 years in U.S. higher education. tution carries a halo effect even in Have grades risen, remained stable, front of the toughest academic review or declined? panels. The experts ought to know Whatever grade inflation is, it better, but something tugs at them exists, right? How do we know? Of

24 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION every three stories that appear in the Obviously, this situation does not UNDERGRADUATE GRADE general and trade press on this issue, exist in higher education. If we are POINT AVERAGES IN TWO two are centered on institutions such teaching the same material and giving COHORTS as Princeton and Amherst. It turns the same tests—with the same crite- Effect out that a higher percentage of grades ria for judgment—that we gave 20 1972-1984 1982-1993 Size awarded in courses at these Midas- years ago, then we are not fulfilling All 2.71 2.65 -.09 touch schools are “As” than was the the principal purposes for which stu- Men 2.61 2.60 -.02 case 10 or 15 or 20 years ago. That dents come to us or the expectations Women 2.81 2.70 -.17 means rampant inflation in the judg- that communities and economies have Less than ment of student performance through- of us. Furthermore, there are no uni- Bachelor’s 2.48 2.48 .00 out American higher education, right? form commodities in higher education, Bachelor’s Even if less than 2 percent of under- and new fields with corresponding or more 2.94 2.88 -.12 graduates and about 5 percent of constitutive models of assessment are bachelor’s recipients attend such insti- constantly arising—as they should, Note: Universe consists of all students who earned more than 10 undergraduate credits. tutions, three anecdotes from the top and as we expect in a universe in make a national trend. which knowledge does not sit still long The situation is analogous to what But what is the real story? enough to be measured. happened in the Boston Marathon In the ideal determination of “infla- The case for grade inflation in U.S. when the rules changed, and the pool tion,” we encounter one of the follow- higher education that is played out in expanded by lottery. The size of the ing phenomena, either in isolation or the media is not based on anything field is nearly double what it was combination. 1) The price of a given you or I would regard as inflation. when my friends and I stood along product or commodity or service of Rather, it is a story of the distribution Beacon Street near Washington constant composition or characteris- of traditional letter grades without any Square in Brookline, with oranges tics (anything from shampoo to root- reference to either the methods or cri- and water and applause for those who canals) rises faster than our income teria by which the grades were assigned or of the subjects in which made it that far. What do you think does. 2) The price of a given product they were given. No one asks whether has happened to the mean time of or commodity or service remains sta- all those “As” were given in completion of the race? To the stan- ble while the perceived or measured Recreation or Chemistry. dard deviation of that time? The quality of the product, commodity or As for the incontrovertible evidence answers are just as common-sensical service declines. 3) The price of a from the footprints in the forest, both as those about grading and student given product or commodity rises the distribution of traditional letter performance in a system of higher faster than does the perceived or mea- grades and GPAs have exhibited a sta- education that has expanded by 40 sured quality of the same product or ble-to-declining trend in the period percent since the early 1970s. commodity; or, the price rises while 1972 to 1993. Anyone who picks a date The truly disturbing story about the quality falls. 4) The price of a earlier than 1972 for the reference grading is something I call the WIR given product or commodity declines, point: a) does not have the data (we Index, that is, the proportion of but at a slower rate than either a didn’t collect it) and b) willingly grades that indicate no-penalty decline in our income or a decline in brings the distortions of the Vietnam Withdrawals, Incompletes and perceived or measured quality. War per iod into the picture. Stable-to- Repeats. The higher the WIR Index, Price is a judgment, analogous to a declining grades during a period of the longer it takes students to earn grade. And these are what one might massification of the higher education degrees—if they earn them at all— call “commodity views” of inflation, system in this country is a matter of and the greater the cost to both pub- which is what the general public every- common sense. It’s what one would lic subsidies for higher education and where understands. If the judgment of expect; and it’s what we got. general access and quality. In the student performance met any of the period 1972-1982, approximately 4 criteria for “inflation” as we think of it DISTRIBUTION OF percent of all grades were WIR. In the in the dailiness of our lives, then it UNDERGRADUATE LETTER period 1982-1993, we were at 7 per- might be a matter worth noting. But in GRADES IN TWO COHORTS cent. The final tally for the period order to prove that something analo- 1972-1984 1982-1993 since 1993 won’t be in until the gous to inflation exists in the judgment As 27.3 25.2% spring, but based on what I’ve seen of of student performance, one would Bs 31.2 31.9 the national sample of transcripts we require the same type of assessments Cs 21.9 22.2 are currently coding, I will wager 10 with the same prompts based on the Ds 5.4 6.0 percent. This is outright wastage, and same material judged by panels observ- Fs/Penalties 3.8 4.5 is a far more weighty issue than the ing the same criteria (and with a Pass/Credit 6.4 2.9 distribution of traditional letter proven high rate of inter-rater reliabili- Withdraw/Repeat 4.0 7.3 grades. Think of it as 10 percent of ty)—all at two or more points in time. your tuition bill and a 10 percent

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 25 elor’s degrees by age 30 (the censor- ing age of the U.S. Department of Education’s longitudinal studies) roughly 85 percent did so within 6.1 calendar years (about 6.75 academic years) of entering college. In the 1980s, the mean elapsed time-to- degree increased to 4.8 calendar years, with the same standard devia- tion of 1.6. In either case, and with very rough figures, a 6-academic year censor puts about 25 percent of bach- elor’s degree recipients on the far side of the moon. That is, they don’t show reduction in available class seats at Right-to-Know Act until some brave up as finishing degrees at all. most of the places where America soul pointed out that athletes were In the 1972-1984 period, it turns goes to college. This is a very serious not the only people who went to col- out that varsity athletes in major issue that we don’t see because a lege. Glitz on a different toe. This is a sports who earned degrees took grade inflation story based on “As” at case in which public perception and longer than others to do so. This is Princeton and Amherst hides it. knowledge of a routine measurement another matter of common-sense in higher education was first deter- empiricism. After all, we are support- Graduation Rates. Consider the mined on the sports pages of your ing many of these students to enter- past 30 years in U.S. higher educa- Daily Planet, and then moved to the tain us, and to spend a considerable tion, and all traditional-age stu- editorial pages. amount of their time in college dents who attended a four-year Glitz on a different toe. In fact, preparing for the entertainment, trav- college at some time in their under- extreme glitz. Only 4 percent of U.S. eling to various sites for the entertain- graduate careers. Did the proportion college students, men and women, ment and executing same. Credit of this group who earned a bache- played varsity anything at the time loads are inevitably lighter—and in lor’s degree by age 30 rise, remain this act became law in 1990. Of that more ways than one. Entertainment stable or decline? Think carefully group, less than half played football time is not study time. No wonder it about who constitutes the denomina- or basketball. Of that group, in turn, takes them longer to finish degrees. tor, for it is the only denominator less than one-quarter played at NCAA In the 1982-1993 period, something that counts. Division 1 schools. The national legis- else happened, perhaps as the result In national policy, we have canon- lation, then, was based on the puta- of media glare on the glitz: varsity ized the issue of graduation rates in tive behavior of less than 0.5 percent athletes in major sports took no something called the “Student Right- of all undergraduates, and since longer than non-varsity athletes to to-Know” Act. Every institution of women were not included in the pro- complete degrees, whereas varsity higher education must report publicly paganda, the percentage was lower athletes in minor sports finished col- the proportion of admitted students than that. It’s an awfully small tail to lege more expeditiously: 4.8 calendar who graduate within x-number of wag a very big dog. years, roughly, for the first two years. If the proportion is low, it is Why putative? The graduation groups, 4.5 calendar years for the var- implied, the school is bad, and stu- rates used to stimulate the legislation sity athletes in minor sports. dents interested in earning a degree were defined by the NCAA to measure should go elsewhere, right? Such leg- the share of students earning bache- Common sense again: the minor islated consensus is the measure of lor’s degrees within six academic sports include—gasp!—women, who dubiously successful propaganda in years of first enrolling in college. finish degrees faster than men no democratic societies. Moreover, the measurement would matter what the question. And Whose graduation rates were so count graduation only from the insti- women’s participation in varsity miserable that they spawned the tution first entered by the student. It sports, spurred by enforcement of Student Right-to-Know Act? Male var- is a rare person who does not see Title IX regulations as well as pro- sity football and basketball players at problems with these boundaries, and found social change in the 1980s, rose NCAA Division 1 institutions. As origi- the national transcript samples cer- significantly. nally drafted by two former basketball tainly reinforce our skepticism. The The glitz orientation hides more players and Rhodes scholars who hap- mean elapsed time-to-degree for bach- significant information. pened to be in Congress at the time, elor’s recipients was 4.5 calendar But, you say, those data are about Sen. Bill Bradley and Rep. Tom years in the 1970s, with a standard time-to-degree; what about the pro- McMillan, this legislation was origi- deviation of 1.6. Translation: for tradi- portion of varsity athletes who actual- nally entitled the Student Athlete tional-age students who earned bach- ly complete degrees. If one employs a

26 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION 10- or 12-year censor on degree com- one in which student loyalties to insti- The cost is reflected in tuition bills. pletion, the graduation rates of varsity tutions are not as binding as they Again, we lose by putting on the glitz. football and basketball players don’t were 30 years ago. Given federal poli- look that much different from those of cy since 1972, when we put the princi- The Culture Wars. Consider the everybody else. In fact, they are high- pal mechanisms of paying for higher total universe of credits earned by er than those of non-athletes, and education into the hands of students, bachelor’s degree recipients. Which have been so since the 1970s: and not institutions, we turned stu- six courses account for the highest dents into consumers. We are a learn- percentages of those earned credits? LONG-TERM BACHELOR’S ing society, and the more options for Our undergraduates are no longer DEGREE COMPLETION RATES learning we provide, the more likely required to study, learn or know any- FOR VARSITY ATHLETES VS. are students to accept the offer. thing about Western civilization. OTHERS The assumptions of the Student- Instead, they can study all kinds of Right-to-Know Act fly in the face of 1972-84 1982-93 bizarre, contrarian and frivolous these realities. They were anachronis- Cohort Cohort material to satisfy requirements for tic in their own time, let alone ours. degrees. Certainly, then, the end of Major Sports 69.3 68.0 Every college, community college, and Minor Sports 71.5 72.5 civilization is nigh! How do we know Non-Varsity 64.7 66.6 trade school in the country had to this? We saw it first in a cleverly mar- hire people to do nothing else but keted volume published in 1987, Alan Note: Universe consists of all students who compute annual SRK data for the Bloom’s The Closing of the American earned more than 10 credits from four-year Department of Education (which, it colleges. Mind, basically a collection of anec- should be noted, did not ask for this dotes from what Bloom called “seri- legislation in the first place). And the ous universities,” and on which he Impossible, you say! Of course you process of negotiating the regulations meditated in a dark collection of dia- would say that. The only story you and formulas under which the data tribes. Serious universities. Places have heard about the graduation rates would be reported consumed thou- like Berkeley and Chicago. America’s of varsity athletes comes from the sands of hours of both government, editors loved this show: if Mount Sinai Sweet Sixteen. organizational and institutional time. draws the crowds, a debunking of Furthermore, the transcript Mount Sinai will always play well, too. account is a system story, not an There are two kinds of stories in institutional story. It allows people People magazine, and one of them is to finish school at an institution other than the one at which they the dark side of glitz. We also learned began. It follows students, not insti- about the skewing of the curricular tutions. If the student is the unit of compass in higher education from a analysis, it turns out, the institution former National Endowment for the is irrelevant—well, peripheral. Humanities chair who told us, with Consider the following data from the shock and outrage, that it was possi- transcript-based histories of the peri- ble for Harvard students to fulfill dis- od 1982-1993: tribution requirements with a course Fully 54 percent of undergraduates entitled, “Tuberculosis, 1842-1952,” attended more than one school by age presumably offering biostatistics 30; and half of this population wrapped around a case study. That’s crossed state lines in the process; 30 hardly a harbinger of the decline of percent of undergraduates attended civilization as we know it! more than two schools; 58 percent of Where do such ideas originate? those who received bachelor’s degrees From the catalogues of elite col- attended more than one school in the leges—what Boston University process (this population includes Chancellor John Silber called higher community college transfers); and 16 education’s most significant contribu- percent of those who attended only tion to American fiction—and from four-year colleges and earned bache- stories drawn from a smattering of lor’s degrees by age 30 completed the classrooms at the same schools. degree in an institution other than the My point here is what we do not one in which they started out. know because public opinion is based There are many other aspects to on the experience of elite institutions. this configuration of student behav- For no matter what those catalogues iors. The point is that we live in an say, it is students’ choice of courses age of multi-institutional attendance, in all our institutions that creates an

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 27 empirical core curriculum. The most are flashed through the Culture Wars? PARTICIPATION RATE FOR ALL revealing route to appreciation of that Of course not! Little of it takes place STUDENTS WHO EARNED curriculum is through the lens of in what Bloom called “serious univer- MORE THAN 10 CREDITS credit ratios. Using this model, all sities.” But do the top 25 change by credits that a cohort of students earns selectivity of the bachelor’s degree- 1972-84 1982-93 add up to 100 percent. If we take each granting institution? Certainly, partic- Cohort Cohort of 1,000 course categories and ask its ularly as most engineering majors are Accounting: Intro 20.7% 30.2% share of the total credits earned, then found in selective and highly selective Business Law 15.8 21.7 display the 20-25 courses with the schools, and most education and Management: Intro 13.7 20.1 highest percentage of credits, we have allied health majors in non-selective Anthropology: a de facto core curriculum. Given colleges. Do the top 25 lists differ by General 10.7 7.0 1,000 course categories, for any one gender and race? More by gender, and Cultural 7.5 6.3 category to register even 0.5 percent that’s not surprising. By race/ethnici- Physical 2.5 1.8 of all credits earned by a cohort of ty, not radically. The core-of-the-core Ethics (Philosophy) 6.6 8.6 students is to claim a large share of remains among all categories of stu- Shakespeare 3.8 3.6 generational academic time. dents: English composition, college- Spanish: A simple way to look at this phe- level mathematics, basic lab science, Intro & Intermediate 12.3 13.3 nomenon is to consider only students history, Spanish. Aerobics, Jogging, etc. 9.8 9.1 who have earned bachelor’s degrees, More specifically, white, black, and African-American therefore accumulated at least 120 Latino college graduates share 23 of History 1.4 0.7 credits. What do we see? First, the the 25 empirical core curriculum African-American core’s share of total academic time courses in common. Asian-American Literature 0.9 0.7 remained in the 31 percent range. students share 20 of the 25 courses in Sociology of Race 3.1 2.1 Second, there are no garbage courses common with their peers. Of the five Science Fiction, Fantasy 1.1 1.3 in the top 25. unique to Asian-Americans, four are Literature & Film 0.5 1.0 The top six are English comp, driven by the fact that this group is Pop/Rock Music 0.6 1.3 introductory economics, calculus, overrepresented among engineering general chemistry, general psych, majors. Of the courses not held in Note: Participation rates for all students who introductory accounting and general common, three are subject to cultural earned more than 10 credits in any combina- tion of institution. biology. If one continued the list, content designation: African-American there would be no doubt that the top 25 studies for black students, advanced The premier outpost is the catego- became less cultural and more quanti- Spanish and Spanish literature cours- ry of aerobics, jogging and bodybuild- tative in the 1980s and early ’90s: we es for Latino students, and art history ing. The participation rate in this lost in literature and the arts, and for Asian-American students. The first category dwarfs the rates of participa- gained in mathematics and business. two of these are common-sensical; the tion in any of the course categories Generally speaking, the major Western third may be idiosyncratic to its for ethnic studies or popular culture. languages and the history surveys (U.S. cohort. Furthermore, student participation and world) held their ground. Seven The polemics of faculty senate rate in aerobics virtually doubled courses fell out of the top 25 between arguments that spill over onto the op- between the cohorts to roughly one the two cohorts, but they did not fall ed pages leave the impression that stu- out of five undergraduates. That is far. The aggregate for music perfor- dents are overloaded with pop culture, more than 20 times the participation mance courses fell to 26th place in the ethnic studies and victimology cours- rate in African-American history or High School & Beyond sample, art his- es instead of Shakespeare. Actually, literature, and nearly 20 times the tory courses to 27th, general literature as we have observed of the empirical participation rate in the various popu- to 28th, student teaching to 29th, and core, if students are on overload with lar culture course categories that organic chemistry to 30th, for example. anything, it’s business and mathemat- most set the critics of the academy Not only were these seven replaced by ics. But let us illustrate some of the aglow with St. Elmo’s fire. college-level mathematics and comput- boundaries that empirical transcript In the interests of full disclosure, er programming, but categories such as data establish for these arguments. some of these comparisons are some- introductory and advanced accounting The table below, based on the per- what deceiving. I am classifying and statistics moved up in ranking, centage of students who completed material based on the myriad course reflecting increased emphasis on courses (not credit ratios), zeros in titles reflected in nearly 1 million numeracy. on some of the contentious course entries on the national transcript Do you hear this from any of the categories and contrasts them with samples. In courses that cannot be critics or defenders of the catalogue- both the truly dominant curriculum classified with distinct cultural labels, based images of higher education that and selected outposts. e.g. Introduction to Poetry, Heroes

28 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION and Heroism, Social Theory, Political Behavior, U.S. Intellectual History, only the syllabus can tell the story of the changing canon (if, in fact, the canon has changed). Both Shakespeare and rap can be taught in Introduction to Poetry. We have no systematic way of painting a national portrait of the content of such courses, particularly when over 2,000 institutions (and an indeterminable number of faculty) are represented. But if we have no systematic way of determining the content of courses with generalized titles, neither do crit- As Margaret Matlock at the University in ways that society regards as ics. The complaints we hear, or the of Michigan has observed, we cannot beyond the norm. The public informa- counter-claims we read, are based on deliver quality health care unless our tion flow places these extraordinary anecdotal, fragmentary mythology. future health service professionals people before us so regularly that we It turns out—and you will never understand culturally seated concepts come to assume, against our better learn this from those carping about of wellness, disease and health. judgment and common sense, that class discussions at “serious universi- Summary: there is rich knowledge their talents, skills, beauty and deter- ties”—that we can move beyond the to be had about the stuff of higher mination are, in fact, norms. few anecdotes and consult national education—what students study, what To the extent to which we canonize faculty surveys that include questions they learn and what they bring to the those norms as cultural ideals and relevant to the Culture Wars. economy and society. This knowledge judge ourselves, our families, our The surveys are conducted by the should dominate the public informa- friends, students, colleagues and insti- Cooperative Institutional Research tion flow. But it doesn’t. It doesn’t tutions by those norms, we face enor- Project at the University of California mous risks, because the public and at Los Angeles. The data are propri- public policymakers will impose etary, but I asked William Korn of THE MESSAGE THAT those norms and judge us by them. UCLA the following question: DOMINATES THE MEDIA It is a situation fraught with extreme In 1989, 1995 and 1998, you asked social and economic tension and faculty whether they included materi- IS THAT IF YOU ATTEND inevitable disappointment. al on race/ethnicity in most or all of ONE OF OUR MIDAS TOUCH Our national perception of affirma- their courses. What percentage did tive action, for example, is drawn so by broad disciplinary area and in INSTITUTIONS, YOU WILL from both litigation involving law and each of those surveys? HAVEAWONDERFULLIFE, medical schools (hence, with students The most significant increases in who are already at the right tail of the inclusion of such material, it turns AND IF YOU DON’T, YOU WON’T. attainment in our education system) out, occurred between 1989-1995. and from William Bowen and Derek Since then, the trend lines have flat- because: a) stories emanating from Bok’s 1998 account of the benefits of tened. The highest percentages occur elite institutions carry a magnetism affirmative action for African- where one would expect, but the pro- for those who control the flow of infor- Americans at 28 selective institutions portions are hardly overwhelming. In mation; b) both sides of the Culture in The Shape of the River. I reviewed 1998, 36 percent of humanities facul- Wars have raised anecdote to the level Bowen and Bok’s book in the ty, 28 percent of social sciences facul- of highest authority; and c) to both Jan./Feb. 1999 issue of University ty, and 20 percent of education faculty sides of the Culture Wars, culture is Business magazine under the title, reported including material on all that should matter to students, “The Rest of the River.” That title race/ethnicity in most or all of their colleges and communities. The word alone reveals how my analysis dove- courses. No one else came close to “purblind” too easily comes to mind. tails with my premise about “Putting even those modest numbers. on the Glitz.” After all, 85 percent of Indeed, there are areas in which What’s It All About? In every soci- minority students—along with 85 per- there is definite deficit in attention to ety, some people live extraordinary cent of everybody else—will never race/ethnicity issues, even by the most lives. They have talents, skills and attend the kind of schools that served neutral of Culture War standards, e.g., determination. They possess innate Bowen and Bok’s analysis. Stanford is health sciences & services, business, beauty or acquired knowledge or high not about to double the size of its fine & performing arts and education. tolerance for risk. They will succeed entering freshman classes and fill its

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 29 seats with minority students, and what the title says: despite their stun- never mentioned. The only glass ceil- Princeton is not about to start accept- ning success in education, women ing that made it to your living room at ing 100 community college transfer continue to experience what I called the time was the ceiling to the pent- students every year (which would “the anvil of the labor market.” house. triple or quadruple the Latino pres- Despite higher graduation rates, high- But you and I do not live in the ence at that institution). There is er GPAs (and in individual courses, penthouse. It is off limits not only to inevitable disappointment if the mes- including Calculus), faster times-to- us, but to most of our colleagues, sage that dominates the media is that degree, etc., women’s achievement neighbors, children and students. So if you attend one of our Midas Touch was rarely rewarded in any sphere of resist—indeed ignore—accounts of higher education that originate in the institutions, you will have a wonderful occupational life. penthouse and that are controlled by life, and if you don’t, you won’t. To say The producer of the “20-20” seg- those who live at such rarefied alti- the least, this is neither a wise nor ment came to my office with a camera tudes. We will know more, and more kind message, particularly for minori- crew and taped for about three hours, truthfully, and know how to address ty students. If we are truly committed during which I used the sound-bite, our problems better by avoiding the to the advancement of minority popu- “we’re talking about glass walls more temptation to put on the glitz. lations in this country, we’ve got to than glass ceilings,” and hoped that work hard with the rest of the river. the segment would include the testi- Clifford Adelman is a senior I started reflecting on this after an mony of three or four typical working research analyst with the U.S. appearance on “20-20” in 1992. The women in their thirties to demon- Department of Education. This arti- Education Department had published strate just how the whole unfortunate cle is adapted from remarks Adelman a monograph of mine entitled Women employment and earnings game was delivered in November 2000 as part at Thirtysomething: Paradoxes of playing out at the time. Instead, the of the University of New Hampshire’s Attainment. A felicitous title: the study producers chose two women at the Saul O Sidore Memorial Lectures was published the week they took pinnacle of elite professions (medicine sponsored by the Sidore Foundation “Thirtysomething” off the air. The and law), graduates of elite universi- and the UNH Center for the monograph used the grandmother of ties (Stanford and Penn), and making Humanities. His remarks do not the Education Department’s longitudi- six-figure salaries with a first digit reflect the opinions or policies of the nal studies to demonstrate exactly greater than one. The glass walls were U.S. Department of Education. Of Pines and Pixels Distance Learning and Forestry in New England

CHARLES H.W. FOSTER AND EDMUND T. CRANCH

n December 1999, a unique educational initiative came I into being, the product of collaboration between the New England Governors’ Conference, the Cambridge, Mass.-based Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the U.S. Forest Service. Called ENFOR for “environmen- tal forestry,” the project’s intent has been to explore whether dis- tance learning via home comput- er could be used to improve management of New England’s 700,000 privately owned, nonin- dustrial forestlands. Private owners of all kinds control 96 percent of the region’s total forest resource.

Although all six New England states have active forestry assistance and incen- tive programs, most are aimed at owners of more than 10 acres of forestland, since these larger tracts seem to lend themselves more readily to professional management. The target of the ENFOR initiative has been small forests, especially those located in New England’s urbanizing areas. Small forests—nine acres or less— represent two-thirds of New England’s privately owned, nonindustrial forest- lands. Though they are growing steadily in number due to fragmentation from development and turnover in ownership, these small woodlands tend to fall between the cracks of conventional assistance programs.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 31 Urban emigrees, often the owners ers would promptly put into practice educators and woodland owners from of forestland more by the accident of a advice obtained by computer. each of the New England states. The real estate transaction than by deliber- ENFOR next asked its Internet consensus was that ENFOR should ate intent, need special services to advisor, James N. Levitt of Harvard’s move swiftly to develop and try out compensate for their fundamental lack Kennedy School of Government, one or more forest environment dis- of awareness of forests and forestry. to arrange for a survey of existing tance learning courses. On the most practical level, the urban forestry distance learning sites both With help from Brian Donahue, a landowners may be unaware, for in New England and elsewhere. Of 66 Brandeis University environmental his- example, that they could qualify for a sites examined in the United States torian and founder of Land’s Sake, a substantial reduction in local property and Canada, 31 offered either online Weston, Mass.-based agricultural and taxes if they commit to long-term, courses for credit or courses with forest management nonprofit, ENFOR professional planning and manage- online components relating to forestry created an introductory forest environ- ment of the forest property. These or forest environment. Two Northeast ment course for the home computer. forestland owners, many of them course sites—the University of Framed as a simulated, half-hour walk young, relatively affluent and techno- Moncton’s NTIC program and the through a suburban New England logically savvy, appear well-suited for University of Maine’s Yankee Woodlot woodlot, the course emphasizes the learning at home via computer. program—seemed relevant to need to fully understand forest With an advisory board that is a vir- ENFOR’s aims and objectives, but processes and linkages, and encour- tual Who’s Who of New England both programs are oriented primarily ages active, private stewardship by the forestry and educational leadership, toward rural landowners. landowner. The course is expected to ENFOR began assembling an accurate be offered to the public early next year, profile of the region’s nonindustrial pri- Planting a Seed first through the Lincoln Institute’s vate forestland owners. From this pro- With these findings in hand—and the Lincoln Education On-line (LEO) and file, ENFOR learned that the owners of support of several regional organiza- later via a network of cooperating web- small forest tracts have diverse back- tions and institutions—ENFOR in sites throughout New England. grounds, occupations and interests. May 2000 convened a New England A second, more advanced course, They are likely to be in middle- to colloquy on distance learning and the Working With Your Woodland, is being upper-income brackets and they own forest environment. Participants developed by Charles Thompson of forestland simply because it is part of included forestry officials, forestry the New England Forestry Foundation their home. Aesthetics and recreation, rather than income, seem to be their prime motivations. Meanwhile, census data suggest that more than one in three U.S. households had a computer at home as of October 1997, and the proportion has presum- ably grown significantly since then.

Surveying the Land With the help of cooperating forestry organizations and agencies in the six New England states, ENFOR in the spring of 2000 began canvassing forest landowners to determine their interest in distance learning services. Nearly 10 percent of the 6,000 owners surveyed responded. Respondents seemed hun- gry for information on all eight of the topics ENFOR asked about: forest improvement, ecology, wildlife, water, recreation, income, protection for the future and available programs. Two out of three respondents said they would be willing to pay for such services. Four out of five reported having already done some forest management or “woodscaping” (aesthetic improve- ment) on their property. All in all, the results suggested that these landown- in cooperation with ENFOR. The would be able to assemble a “portfo- stituencies who traditionally have not course will provide interested lio” of information on soils, water, accessed formal professional degree landowners with additional opportuni- vegetation and wildlife specific to the programs. Moreover, thanks to the mir- ties to learn about forest principles and individual forest property that could acle of modern computers, forests and practices and to locate sources of tech- then serve as an ecological umbrella their products can now be measured, nical and financial assistance to sup- for the landowner’s future activities monitored, marked, managed and mar- port their own management activities. as a citizen-scientist land manager. keted with a precision unimaginable An important related initiative Course topics may be tailored to merely decades ago. And with the help took shape in May 2000. With encour- individual needs and accessed at the of new distance learning techniques, agement from ENFOR, Vermont owner’s convenience. Further, the the owners of these lands may soon Extension Forester Thom McEvoy center will host expert chat sessions, constitute an interlinked network of developed a proposal for a $2.3 mil- offer quarterly video conferencing forest-wise citizens equipped to handle lion regional center for developing, opportunities and thereby strive to the looming decisions that will deter- forest environment courses. The state build a sense of community among mine the future of New England’s foresters of New England and others forests and forest owners. important forest heritage. are now actively seeking public and Online topics will range from con- private funds to create this first-of-a- ventional biological, ecological and Charles H.W. Foster is chair of kind course development facility to management functions of the forest to ENFOR. He is an adjunct lecturer be located at the University of practical information on master plan- at Harvard University’s John F. Ver mont. ning, laws, contracts, taxation, har- Kennedy School of Government, McEvoy envisions courses and ser- vesting and estate planning. In former dean of the Yale University vices that are easy to use, amenable keeping the broad view of the forest School of Forestry & Environmental to either broadband or conventional as both a physical and a cultural envi- Studies and former Massachusetts Internet access, coupled with stream- ronment, courses also will be offered secretary of environmental affairs. ing audio and video and capable of in forest history, forest policy, folk- Edmund T. Cranch is an ENFOR archiving information specific to a lore, literature, art and music. board member, president emeritus particular woodland site. So an indi- ENFOR provides an emerging of Worcester Polytechnic Institute vidual woodland owner, like the model of how technology-assisted col- and former dean of engineering owner of shares in a mutual fund, laborative programs can reach con- at Cornell University.

ANNA MARIA COLLEGE, a co-ed Catholic Anna institution of higher education, provides the right Maria foundation for you to live a meaningful life as College you pursue a productive career. Liberal arts courses sharpen your critical thinking skills for professional success, while our faculty and staff stress the importance of personal values, social Not just four years responsibility, and spiritual growth. Small classes guarantee a stimulating learning environment. Career internships and field experiences create opportunities for you to apply what you’ve learned in class to the real world. And our safe, rural campus in central Massachusetts is a perfect starting point for activities here and in nearby Worcester, Boston, and beyond. Visit Anna Maria College and discover that learning never ends and reaching your potential is a . . . for life! lifelong adventure. Art/Art Education Criminal Justice History Political Science/Public Art Therapy Economics International Studies Policy Arts Management Education Legal Studies/Paralegal Pre-Medical Biology English Liberal Studies Religion Business/Management English as a Foreign Math Social Relations/Social Catholic Studies Language Modern Languages Work Computer Information Environmental Sciences Music/Music Education Sociology and Systems Fire Science Music Therapy Anthropology Counseling Psychology Graphic Design Philosophy Theater

Sunset Lane/Paxton, Massachusetts 01612-1198/800-344-4586/e-mail: [email protected]/web site: www.annamaria.edu Seven Myths about Online Colleges: A View from Inside

ROBERT V. ANTONUCCI

n the 21st century, the Internet can offer an expansion in access online students fare better than their to education comparable to that made possible by the land-grant offline counterparts who may stand colleges of the 19th century and the financial aid programs of the in long lines to register for courses or I buy textbooks. 20th century. Universities and colleges recognize this, which is why Moreover, resources such as so many of them are moving online: Merrill Lynch estimates that the libraries and databases can be stored market for online higher education in the United States will grow from and delivered online. Harcourt Higher $1.2 billion in 1999 to $7 billion in 2003. Education sells textbooks online and has created one of the largest online Still, the Internet’s ascendancy in higher education has generated reference libraries in the world. Books as much controversy as enthusiasm. And it has spawned myths. Most that are not available online are pro- of these myths revolve around the purported inadequacies of online vided under a lending agreement with learning, the limits imposed by for-profit ventures and the damage Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. that virtual colleges will do to their traditional counterparts.

Myth #1: Virtual colleges will because of job or family responsibili- harm bricks and mortar schools. ties, lack of access to a nearby college Rather than falling behind, traditional or disability. colleges are leading the charge online: By providing these “nontraditional” about half of all colleges now offer students with access to higher educa- their students online alternatives, and tion, online institutions will expand that number is likely to grow sharply in the pool of students pursuing degrees, coming years. In fact, some online-only some of whom will opt for traditional colleges could fall by the wayside, schools after beginning college online. much in the way that “pure play” online Online universities will provide addi- retailers are failing as established busi- tional opportunity and flexibility for Myth #3: The lack of a class- nesses open virtual storefronts. members of the academic community. room compromises learning. Online colleges actually are more And as more students pursue postsec- It’s not classrooms that matter in learn- likely to complement, rather than ondary degrees, higher education gen- ing but the interactivity that class- compete with, traditional universities. erally will benefit from the widened rooms promote. It is challenging, but Online colleges typically draw older public support for learning. not impossible, to simulate that class- students who already have decided room experience online through e-mail, not to attend traditional schools Myth #2: Online colleges lack instant messaging, discussion groups, libraries and other resources. chat rooms and other methods. The charge is that online colleges, Online collaboration can replicate because they exist essentially in some of the stimulation students get cyberspace, cannot offer students the from working on group projects. To same level of services and resources meet the challenge of teaching health as colleges with a full complement of care online, Harcourt created offices, libraries and other facilities. “Middleboro,” a virtual community in But the services that colleges offer — which students assume the roles of counseling, academic advising, career health-care providers and policymak- guidance, skills assessment and learn- ers. The community has all the ele- ing assistance—can be provided just ments of a rural health system— as easily via the Internet. In fact, including its own hospital, nursing

34 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION home, community health centers and Myth #5: Online courses diploma mills to report them to the public health department—and all the lack rigor. Federal Trade Commission or state problems and conflicts too. The Creating courses for online use is regulatory agencies. These authorities course presents public health issues highly demanding. It requires an can take appropriate action against and policy options, and students understanding of how online instruc- fraudulent colleges that sell worthless debate the course of action for the tion differs from offline learning, the diplomas—whether online or offline. community based on its needs and technical expertise to translate mate- political and geographic conditions. rial online in an appropriate form and “Middleboro” offers a paradigmatic the ability to create the necessary change in learning, in which students interactivity. learn by doing in an online environ- At Harcourt, leading academics and ment. It provides a model for collabo- practitioners in each field develop rative online learning, and its early courses in concert with specialists success shows how the lack of class- who apply leading-edge research in rooms won’t matter as a new genera- how people learn online to the design tion of students who grew up with the of courses. For example, Harcourt Internet become comfortable with developed business courses in coopera- online exchanges. tion with professors from Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers and Clarkson. To help develop courses in information technology, we recruited chief informa- tion officers and other IT professionals from Fidelity Services, Telesuite Corp., Myth #7: For-profit colleges Motorola, Mitre, NASA and sacrifice quality for profit. PricewaterhouseCoopers. For health Most online-only colleges—as courses, we enlisted the help of profes- opposed to online divisions of tradi- sors of health care at the University of tional colleges—are for-profit entities, North Carolina, UCLA, the University which makes them immediately sus- of Mexico, the University of Michigan pect to those who fear that academic quality will be compromised in the Myth #4: Teachers give students and the University of New Hampshire. less attention online. Each course undergoes rigorous, in- quest for profit. Yet for-profit institu- Critics of distance learning contend house peer review. Teachers have flexi- tions earn profits because of their that, without classrooms and offices, bility to modify course materials to quality, not in spite of it, especially in instructors at online colleges will pay reflect instructional needs. And every highly competitive markets. less attention to students. But teaching course is regularly reviewed and updat- Online-only colleges earn their and learning don’t take place only in ed to ensure that its content is current. profits not by compromising on quali- class or during office hours. In fact, ty but from the savings associated online learning will likely demand Myth #6: Online colleges are with fewer administrative staff and more instructional time and commit- diploma mills. fewer offices, dormitories and other ment than do conventional colleges. Diploma mills that award degrees while physical facilities. By investing Courses designed for delivery online requiring little or no learning have been instead in technology, course develop- the bane of higher education ever since require considerable instructor involve- ment and a highly-trained faculty, the college degree became a necessary ment to simulate the interactivity of a online colleges can offer a learning classroom. Teachers will have to workplace credential. Diploma mills experience of comparable quality at devote time to e-mails, monitoring of are cropping up online as well. But less cost, even while earning profits. discussion groups and other contact there is no evidence that they are any with students. more common online than off. Robert V. Antonucci is president of Early experience at Harcourt has Students can protect themselves by Harcourt Higher Education, a virtual shown that teachers who undergo investigating the quality of offerings at three weeks’ training in online teaching cyber-colleges and taking courses only college that offers degree programs skills spend almost 50 percent more from those that are licensed, preferably and courses in business, information time working with their students than in states that have rigorous standards technology, health care and arts do instructors at offline schools. At the such as Massachusetts and California. and sciences for adults. A division same time, the online instructors Reputable online colleges guard of Harcourt Inc., Harcourt Higher spend fewer hours commuting, serving their good names jealously and Education can be found online at on committees and pursuing research. encourage students who come across www.harcourthighered.com.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 35 PHOTO BY REBECCA DEANS. PHOTO New England Futures Higher Education Prepares for Change

ELEANOR M. McMAHON

ecognizing the changes occurring in American higher edu- to date, a clear picture of how well cation, the Pew Charitable Trusts recently funded a propos- institutional and political leaders understand these changes and their al entitled the “Futures Project” to develop the policies and R consequences, and a statement as to practices seen as essential to the effective evolution of the American what states will need from higher system of higher education with particular emphasis on a more education over the next decade. The market-oriented and performance-oriented approach. project also will convene political and academic leaders to focus on the nature of the problems facing higher The proposal to Pew—prepared in education, policies that work and the large measure by Frank Newman, development of regular mechanisms then president of the Education for ongoing planning. Finally, the pro- Commission of the States, and Kay ject seeks to deliver new policies to McClenney, then vice president of the govern a more complicated higher commission—aimed to develop new education system while preserving ways for academic and political lead- such essential elements as broad ers to prepare for a future sure to be access. marked by profound demographic When Newman joined Brown changes, growing demand for more University’s Taubman Center for advanced workforce skills, rapid Public Policy as a visiting professor, growth of technology and the emer- the project went with him. gence of new kinds of higher educa- The Futures Project may learn a tion providers including for-profit and great deal from a study by the former nonprofit institutions as well as estab- California Higher Education Policy lished institutions taking on new roles. Center, now the National Center for Specifically, the Futures Project Public Policy and Higher Education, aims to develop a fuller understand- in which detailed case studies ing of the changes occurring in higher focused on seven large and diverse education and institutions’ responses higher education systems (California,

36 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New England’s Response RSP for a total of more than $37 mil- New York and Texas). The National In New England, a number of initia- lion. The RSP also saves taxpayers mil- Center identified major challenges, tives by the New England Board of lions of dollars by helping the six New which over the past 20 years have Higher Education (NEBHE) respond England states avoid costly duplication had serious impacts on colleges and to the challenges identified by the of academic programs at their public universities. National Center. campuses. In 1999-2000, the overall The first challenge to higher educa- For example, by aiming to increase benefit of the RSP to the six New tion is to close the gap between rich the participation and success of England states and their residents is and poor by ensuring that human tal- underrepresented minority students estimated to have exceeded $62 million. ent is developed across socioeconomic at all levels of education, the NEBHE During academic year 1999-2000, classes. Excellence Through Diversity initia- nearly 48 percent of RSP students A second challenge is the increase tive responds to the challenge of were enrolled at two-year institutions, in enrollment as the nation’s high reducing social stratification. The pro- while nearly 42 percent were enrolled school graduating classes grow dra- gram’s Science, Engineering and at four-year institutions, and 10 per- matically at least through the year Mathematics Support Network, which cent were enrolled in graduate pro- 2008. A third is that just as student meets each year at the Massachusetts grams. Literally hundreds of programs numbers are increasing, higher educa- Institute of Technology, involves more are offered through the RSP by 78 pub- tion’s resources are shrinking than 300 minority high school and lic colleges and universities. Recent because of public resistance to tuition college students and more than 150 additions include a bachelor’s degree increases and escalating competition professionals from business and acad- program in physiology and neurobiolo- for federal and state funds from ser- emia who serve as advisors and men- gy at the University of Connecticut, a vices such as public schools, health tors to network students. This master’s program in economic and services, welfare and corrections. As NEBHE initiative also helps students social development at the University of a result, consensus on financial sup- obtain summer internships at busi- Massachusetts Lowell, and a doctoral port has eroded. In the 1980s and program in marine biology at the nesses, campuses and government ’90s, the United States drifted into University of Maine. laboratories and notifies students of a policy of heavy reliance on student A NEBHE survey on the occasion fellowship competitions, conferences debt to pay for college. So while the of the program’s 40th anniversary and other academic and career economy demands more and better revealed that many RSP participants enrichment opportunities. All six New educated citizens, public policies were first-generation college students England states have established state make paying for higher education neither of whose parents had attained networks serving more than 5,000 stu- more difficult. a bachelor’s degree. More than half of dents since 1990. In addition, NEBHE A fourth challenge is quality. Those the RSP students who identified them- has collaborated with the Western who know higher education best are selves as first-generation reported Interstate Commission on Higher increasingly critical of how well it family incomes of $50,000 or less. Education and the Southern Regional works. Public policy must include Further, many of the RSP students Education Board to support a nation- responsibility for seeing that higher were pursuing college degrees to pre- al doctoral scholars program. education performance meets public pare them for careers in fields such as As to the National Center challenge needs and for recognizing and support- environmental science and policy, of increasing enrollments and ing quality assurance mechanisms. allied health and medicine, and busi- Finally, a fifth challenge is the decreasing financial resources, the ness and engineering. powerful but unpredictable impact of NEBHE Regional Student Program information technologies. Technology (RSP) has been extraordinarily One Region has already revolutionized research responsive. The RSP enables New In response to the challenge of new and has had a major impact on higher England residents to pay significantly technologies, NEBHE has encouraged education administration. reduced tuition at out-of-state public a regionwide perspective in the area The central question now is how colleges and universities within the of educational telecommunications technology will affect the quality and six-state New England region if they and distance learning by sponsoring accessibility of instruction on and off pursue certain degree programs not a series of conferences on topics such campus. Technology also has stimu- offered by their home-state public as higher education in the virtual era, lated greater competition in the entry institutions. Since its inception in the computer-use policies in the virtual of new providers of higher education 1950s, the program has provided era and distance desktop learning. and threatened the efficacy and rele- thousands of New England students NEBHE’s New England Technology vance of many policies predicated with major savings on more than Education Partnership (NETEP) has upon geography, such as institutional 150,000 annual tuition bills. In acade- examined the status of technical service areas, regional accreditation mic year 1999-2000 alone, nearly 7,500 training programs on New England and, some would suggest, state New Englanders saved an average of campuses and helped institutions boundaries themselves. $5,000 each in tuition costs under the respond to increased demand for cur-

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 37 ricula in cutting-edge fields. In 1995, The NSF-funded AQUA initiative, government, business and the non- NEBHE received a National Science which began in August 1997, provided profit sector, each issue of CONNECTION Foundation (NSF) grant to prepare aquaculture-related curriculum and offers expert analysis and hard-hitting high school teachers and college fac- professional development for more commentaries on topics such as ulty to introduce fiber optics technol- than 50 educators from more than 40 workforce development, access to ogy curriculum into existing New England middle schools, sec- higher education, science policy, edu- programs. Through this Fiber Optics ondary schools and postsecondary cation funding, emerging industries Technology Education Project institutions. Participating institutions and interstate regionalism. New (FOTEP), principal and co-principal have received equipment to install England newspapers frequently investigators provided technical assis- aquaculture recirculating systems in reprint CONNECTION articles and report tance to teachers and faculty from their classrooms and the principal on issues advanced in the journal. more than 40 New England schools investigators and aquaculture special- In addition, NEBHE conducts a and colleges. FOTEP workshops ists have been providing technical variety of research initiatives, includ- brought together high school and col- assistance to educators for the suc- ing an annual FACTS survey of the lege faculty in an effort to encourage cessful implementation of their aqua- region’s 280 colleges and universities, collaboration and program articula- culture education programs. an annual Student Vacancy Survey tion between the two levels. In 1994-1995, NEBHE’s Regional and special issue-oriented research Telecommunications and Distance Learning Project conducted a survey projects such as the 1999 Future of indicating that collaboration on dis- New England Survey, conducted in tance learning among New England collaboration with the University of colleges and universities was essen- Massachusetts Boston, to illuminate tially nonexistent. However, this is New England priorities and inform changing as pressure builds to adopt regional policymaking. modern technologies while financial NEBHE/CONNECTION conferences constraints worsen. address a variety of topical issues. Typically, collaboration between Most recently, in December, 60 New schools begins in professional disci- England movers and shakers gathered plines such as engineering and nurs- in Dedham, Mass., to explore trends in ing. By way of illustration, the New England and recommend institu- University of Massachusetts campuses tional and state policy responses. This at Amherst, Lowell and Dartmouth are unique New England regional summit collaborating on bringing electrical was sponsored by NEBHE in coopera- engineering courses to UMass Boston tion with the Education Commission By the end of academic year 1998, through distance learning. A second of the States and the Futures Project. 1,844 students had attended classes area of collaboration is emerging The innovative summit format high- that introduced fiber optics concepts. between elementary schools and com- lighted major changes impacting high- This represented an increase of 80 munity colleges and between two-year er education in New England and the percent in the period 1996-1998. Over community colleges and four-year col- nation. It addressed a range of ques- the 30 months in which the program leges. Bristol Community College and tions including: How real is the com- operated, a total of 4,193 students Cape Cod Community College, for petition posed by virtual institutions? attended classes on fiber optics con- example, have created a local distance How deep an impact will new tech- cepts taught by FOTEP instructors. learning network linking them with a nologies have on teaching and learn- These programs of study have been in number of K-12 schools as well as ing? How can higher education the general categories of electronics, industry. Despite these collaborative provide all New Englanders with the telecommunications, computer and activities, New England as a region engineering technologies and physics. has been found to lag behind other skills demanded by the new economy? The FOTEP initiative laid the ground- regions in the United States in collab- These are the kinds of questions work for NEBHE’s new NSF-funded orative distance learning efforts. the region needs to keep on asking. PHOTON project. In 2000, NEBHE Importantly, NEBHE also operates received a three-year, $495,000 NSF a variety of highly regarded programs Eleanor M. McMahon is a distin- grant to provide professional develop- for New England “opinion leaders” guished professor at the Taubman ment and laboratory equipment to and practitioners. For example, since Center for Public Policy and teachers, faculty and career and guid- 1986, NEBHE has published American Institutions at Brown ance counselors in middle, secondary CONNECTION, America’s only regional University and a member of the and postsecondary institutions in journal on higher education and eco- Futures Project Advisory Committee. New England in the rapidly growing nomic development. Read by approxi- She is a former chair of the New field of photonics (light) technology. mately 12,000 leaders in education, England Board of Higher Education.

38 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION Regional Druggists Pharmacy Schools Seek Rx for Shortage

WENDY LINDSAY

t’s flu season in New fer students with some college experi- England and pharmacies are ence. And the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, is filling more prescriptions I among a handful of U.S. colleges now than ever—and with less help. considering opening pharmacy The nation’s third largest health schools. UConn is in the midst of profession is short about 4,500 building a $61 million facility to house its pharmacy school, with professionals, and the shortage is expectations that the school will expected to last for several more enroll 360 doctor of pharmacy stu- years. Not surprisingly, pharma- dents, 60 graduate students and cy schools are under pressure to employ 45 faculty members and 90 researchers. This year, UConn intro- produce more graduates. PHOTO BY JOHN PETERSON. PHOTO duced nine-month internships for UConn’s pharmacy doctoral candi- How bad is the shortage? The Sciences, and two state universities, dates who worked in settings ranging Hartford Courant reports that some the University of Connecticut and the from the Pfizer Corp. to Indian Health Connecticut drugstores have had to University of Rhode Island. Services in Alaska. URI’s pharmacy close during business hours to com- The U.S. Department of Labor school offers interns clinical experi- ply with state law prohibiting them reports that the median income for ence in Maine, Massachusetts, New from operating without a pharmacist pharmacists in 1998 was about Hampshire, Alaska and France. on site. When drugstores are open, $66,000. But pharmacy is a tough “People often underestimate the long waits are typical. field, restricted to students who are career opportunities in pharmacy,” Prescription drug sales totaled strong in science and mathematics says UConn pharmacy school Dean nearly $122 billion in 1999, up 18 per- and willing to commit to six years Michael Gerald. “They envision only cent from $103 billion in 1998, accord- worth of study. (In the 1990s, pharma- pill counters.” In fact, pharmacy-relat- ing to the National Association of cy schools initiated a six-year doctor ed careers encompass a wide range of Chain Drug Stores. Prescriptions are of pharmacy as the new standard, and jobs in regulation, administration, projected to swell by 50 percent began phasing out five-year bachelor’s research and development, marketing between 1999 and 2005, while the programs.) After earning their and health services. number of pharmacists grows just 6 degrees, prospective pharmacists then Which is not to say the corner percent from its current 129,000. must pass a state licensure exam. druggist is not in demand. About Meanwhile, enrollment in pharmacy At URI’s pharmacy school, 2002 is three out of five pharmacists work in schools has been declining. The num- the last year that students will gradu- community pharmacies. “Automation ber of applicants to U.S. pharmacy ate with a bachelor’s in pharmacy; is being considered as one way to schools dropped by a third from 1994 starting in 2004, all students will address the shortage of pharmacists, to 1999, according to a recent federal graduate with a new pharmacy doc- but pharmacists still need to be on study initiated by U.S. Rep. Jim torate. As institutions transition to site to dispense medicine and to do McGovern of Massachusetts. doctoral programs during the next consultations with customers,” says Would-be pharmacists can choose few years, they will see the number of Joan Lausier, the associate dean of from 82 pharmacy schools throughout pharmacy graduates temporarily URI’s pharmacy school. the United States, which last year decline. UConn’s pharmacy school The cost of pursuing a pharmacy awarded 3,876 bachelor’s degrees in had no graduates this year. degree is considerable. Because phar- pharmacy and 3,265 pharmacy doc- But the future may be brightening macy programs are expensive to oper- torates. New England is home to four for pharmacy. The Boston-based ate, most impose a surcharge or fee pharmacy colleges: two private Massachusetts College of Pharmacy over and above normal tuition. schools, the Massachusetts College of and Allied Health Sciences recently McGovern has suggested special aid Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences established a second campus in programs be used to lure students and Northeastern University’s Bouve Worcester, which offers an intensive, into the field. Pharmacy students at College of Pharmacy and Health three-year doctoral program for trans- both URI and UConn are charged the

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 39 undergraduate tuition rate, rather The RSP makes it possible for resi- able out-of-state study of pharmacy, than the higher graduate rate. But dents of Maine, Massachusetts, New the states have been able to avoid the UConn imposes a $10,000 surcharge Hampshire, and Vermont to pursue a expense of building and operating paid out during the last two years of pharmacy degree at the University of pharmacy schools in-state to meet the the six-year program, and URI is con- Connecticut or the University of needs of their residents. What’s that sidering charging a $500 per semester Rhode Island while paying less than worth? At UConn, construction costs fee starting in the third year. half of the regular out-of-state tuition alone will amount to about $60 mil- As state universities, UConn and rate. This year, RSP pharmacy stu- lion, while annual payroll will exceed URI charge state residents an in-state dents pay $6,423 in tuition at UConn $5 million, according to Gerald. Add tuition rate. Out-of-state students pay instead of the $13,056 normally to that the costs of maintaining labo- more than triple that amount, unless charged to out-of-state undergradu- ratories, library holdings and expen- they are from another New England ates, while RSP students at URI pay sive contractual arrangements with state, thanks to the New England $5,196 instead of $11,906. hospitals and other clinical sites. Board of Higher Education’s Regional Maine, Massachusetts, New Regional cooperation through the Student Program (RSP). The program Hampshire and Vermont—which have RSP offers some sugar to help that gives New England residents a tuition never operated a pharmacy school as medicine go down. break when they pursue academic part of their public college systems— programs, like pharmacy, that are not have benefited from participation in Wendy Lindsay is associate direc- offered by public institutions in their the RSP since 1957. Because the RSP tor of regional services at the New home state. provides their residents with afford- England Board of Higher Education.

What, Health-Care Costs That Are Under Control? RSP Health Majors: 2000-01

The New England Board of Mental Health Master’s Higher Education’s Regional Myofascial Therapy Allied Health Student Program (RSP) offers Nuclear Medicine Technology Applied Immunology New England residents Occupational Therapy Assistant Audiology Biology: Nurse Anesthesia a substantial tuition break—worth Ophthalmic Design and Dispensary Biomedical Technologies $5,000 a year on average—when Ophthalmic Technician Opticianry Clinical Laboratory Sciences they pursue majors that are not Paramedic Studies Dental Science offered by their home-state public Forensic Nursing Pharmacy Technician campuses. Plus, New England Health Policy and Management Physical Therapist Assistant Health Services Administration state governments save millions Radiation Therapy Technology Medicinal Chemistry of dollars because they do not Respiratory Therapy and Care Movement Science and Rehabilitation have to duplicate programs in Surgical Technology Occupational Therapy fields such as pharmacy. Here is Therapeutic Recreation Pharmaceutical Science a sampling of health-related Pharmacognosy majors offered through the RSP... Bachelor’s Pharmacology and Toxicology Community Health Education Physical Therapy Associate Cytotechnology Public Health Cardiovascular Technology Dental Hygiene Clinical Laboratory Science Diagnostic Genetic Sciences Doctoral Complementary Health Care Dietetics Communication Disorders Dental Laboratory Technology Health Education Gerontology Developmental Disabilities Aide Health Management and Policy Medicinal Chemistry Diagnostic Medical Sonography Occupational Therapy Nursing Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation/ Pharmacy (6-year/Pharm.D) Pharmaceutical Science/ Pharmaceutics Substance Abuse Counselor Public and Community Health Pharmacognosy Emergency Health Care Radiologic Technology Pharmacology and Toxicology Exercise Science Rehabilitation Services Public Health Gerontology Sports Medicine Health Science Therapeutic Recreation First-Professional Dental Medicine Medical Assistant Wellness and Alternative Medicine Medicine Medical Record Technology Pharmacy

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Test Culture Scholar and experienced technical stimulus of achieving the target Alan R. Earls communication consultant with a scores in the first year was removed, doctorate in physics from MIT, who Tacoma scores fell. Standardized Minds: The High Price was locked out of public school teach- Then, there was the so-called Lake of America’s Testing Culture and ing in Massachusetts because she Wobegon study, named for Garrison What We Can Do To Change It, Peter failed the reading section of the con- Keillor’s fictional town where “all the Sacks, Perseus Books, 2000, $17.50 troversial Massachusetts Educator kids are above average.” In the late Certification Test. Sacks also tells of 1980s, West Virginia physician John There is much to like and much that is individuals who made a success of life Jacob Cannell had grown concerned familiar in Standardized Minds, a despite being effectively excluded about a pattern he saw among his polemical swipe at just about every from higher education by standard- patients: children having problems type of standardized test ever devised. ized tests, thereby seeming to con- with schoolwork but managing to Sacks, a self-described journalist and found the very point of such tests. score well on the state’s standardized essayist, makes a compelling case that tests. West Virginia was proud of the the history of standardized tests is fact that its third- and fifth- graders one of thinly disguised efforts to legit- were scoring higher than 60 percent of imize elites. From the 19th century their peers nationwide. But other Social Darwinists to the early 20th measures of achievement didn’t seem century work of Alfred Binet (the to match. Relatively few West Virginia Frenchman whose name later graced students attended or completed col- the Stanford-Binet IQ tests), the early lege and per-capita income in the state days of testing seem, in the light of was among the lowest in the nation. today, to be reprehensible for their Cannell grew curious and looked at narrow concept of what constitutes the tests. He found that 32 other intelligence. Unfortunately, in the end, states administering similar tests Sacks doesn’t do enough to show that were also claiming “above the nation- the alternatives he proposes would be al average” scores—a bit of fuzzy fairer. math. The study Cannell launched Sacks is so certain that testing is was followed by a more rigorous all more or less bunk that he says hav- Though Sacks doesn’t mention RAND analysis that found many ing parents who drive a Volvo is a bet- the controversial MCAS test in aspects of the testing system to be ter predictor of college and life Massachusetts or other specific test- troubling and pseudoscientific. success than scores on standardized ing regimes in New England, he does “In a very real sense, public tests. But observations like these offer examine testing problems in other schools playing the test-score game is little help in more fairly providing test-obsessed regions. Tacoma, something of an educational fraud access to college. Wa sh., for instance, hired a test-happy hoisted [sic] on taxpayers. True and Sacks marshals considerable anec- public school superintendent and got lasting achievement is not likely to dotal evidence pointing to test results a startling rise in test scores, the budge with quick fixes,” writes Sacks. that seem to be disconnected from result, according to Sacks, of the all- Sacks provides valuable and acces- reality. For instance, he cites the case too-common tendency to “teach to a sible fodder for testing opponents. The of Nancy Schneing, a Fulbright test.” Moreover, once the temporary book’s jacket features praise from

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 45 within the New England region includ- or in outside life—are inherently supe- This collection of 15 essays explains ed Walter M. Haney, professor and rior ways of assessing individual poten- that most colleges lack a comprehen- senior research associate at the Center tial is not fully developed. Nor are these sive technology plan, have not thought for the Study of Testing, Boston measures shown to be less subject to about the revised mission or new fac- College, which focuses on how educa- the deliberate or inadvertent “slanting” ulty roles, haven’t worked out the tional standards, assessments and found in tests. intellectual property issues, and may tests can be used more fairly, and Sacks cites the case of a group of not know how to contain costs while William C. Hiss, vice president for students who were considered margin- expanding productivity. administration services at Bates al college material yet succeeded in College, one of the first prestigious col- winning a competition to build an leges to drop the SAT as an admissions energy-efficient vehicle. While the requirement. achievement is laudable, like others he The author’s discussion of Bates is cites, it may or may not reflect an particularly interesting. The Lewiston, understanding of principles and ideas Maine, college began gravitating likely to count in more advanced stud- toward an SAT-free admissions policy ies, and it may or may not reflect a mas- after growing unease over how requir- tery of a specific body of knowledge. It ing high SAT scores fit with the institu- could equally well be an indication of tion’s liberal-minded goals. pedestrian thinking pursued with great Admissions officers then began to energy or even the result of serendipity. notice evidence that Bates was fright- Standardized tests may be the prob- ening off many capable students who lem, but Standardized Minds is not simply couldn’t deliver a combined the whole solution. score of 1200 or above. Furthermore, examination of student performance Alan R. Earls is a freelance The essays on the costs of higher after admissions revealed that testing writer and frequent contributor education technology represent a sum- was not predictive for between one- to CONNECTION. mary of progress on resolving these quarter and one-third of those actually complex questions. The experience of admitted. Britain, Canada, Australia and the What ultimately killed the testing United States (but not New England) requirement at Bates, Hiss told Sacks, Virtual Economics with both costs and benefits is exam- was the suspicion that “we were throw- Joseph M. Cronin ined. Although the revolution remains ing young people into the arms of in an early stage, a few discoveries Kaplan or the Princeton Review.” Dollars, Distance, and Online have emerged. In 1984, Bates made SAT verbal and Education: The New Economics The worst way to proceed, the essays math scores optional for applicants, of College Teaching and Learning, imply, is to add technology to conven- though it still required some SAT sub- Martin J. Finklestein, Carol tional courses, keep the pilot project ject tests—and test scores were Frances, Frank I. Jewett and small and move very slowly—the usual requested after admission for research Bernhard W. Scholz, The Oryx approach to adopting expensive new purposes. The results bore out the Press, 2000, $39.95 tools. The evidence suggests that this hopes of Hiss and others: lower-scor- strategy will cause faculty workloads ing students who opted out of the SAT The December 2000 meeting of the and unit costs to increase dramatically requirement fared just as well at Bates New England Association of Schools without gaining productivity. as those with higher scores who chose and Colleges included a provocative Economies flow from large-scale to submit them as part of the applica- panel titled: Paying for Technology: enterprises. The most dramatic tion process. Based on that evidence, Sensible Investment or Spending decreases in costs have been achieved Bates went fully test-optional in 1990, Spree? That’s a question governors, leg- by the Open University of the United relying exclusively on grades and other islators and trustees should be asking Kingdom and 10 other mega-universi- measures to determine admissions. as they consider whether online educa- ties around the world, each serving Many readers will applaud this tion will live up to its promise of saving more than 100,000 students. Most of book. But like the tests Sacks con- hundreds of millions of dollars by the economies of scale are achieved in demns, his effort lacks fairness—and avoiding new campus construction the 25 most popular undergraduate his solution seems incomplete. His while expanding access to education courses, relying heavily on part-time contention that other less contrived for adult learners. instructors. means of assessing capabilities—suc- Unfortunately, distance education Budget analysts, whether on cam- cess in school work, on special projects requires heavy startup investments. pus, in systems or working for elected

46 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION officials, will find the detailed case Penn’s Center for Community and research that nine other universi- studies, cost equations, planning and Partnerships, asserts in The Learning ties have adopted. accounting methodologies to be help- Connection, “universities cannot The cases outlined in The Learning ful. Campus academic officers also afford to remain shores of affluence, Connection range from school gover- need this handbook. self-importance, and horticultural nance to equity initiatives to state stan- The evidence to date suggests that beauty at the edge of seas of squalor, dards, teacher development and the best tactics to produce economies violence and despair.” community-building. The book fea- in distance education are: outsourcing So what have universities done to tures two well-known New England of software and platforms, collabora- help reform schools or rebuild urban initiatives: Trinity College President tion with other colleges and universi- communities? This slim paperback Evan Dobelle’s marshaling of federal, ties (as in Connecticut), the describes efforts, most of them experi- foundation, city and private funds to unbundling of course development mental and daring, to cross the peda- build a Learning Corridor of schools, roles and redefinition of long-range gogical divide and commit higher health facilities and youth service cen- expenditure and cost management education resources to poor schools ters in a once dying Hartford neighbor- plans. New England prides itself both and neighborhood renewal. hood, and former Boston University on innovation and quality. All the more President John Silber’s bold offer to reason for absorbing the early lessons manage Chelsea, Mass., schools, gleaned by technology pioneers else- resulting in seven new school build- where in the world. ings, expanded early childhood pro- grams, an increase in SAT scores and Joseph M. Cronin is president of student access to college. A longer Edvisors Inc. He is a former presi- book might have also included worthy dent of Bentley College and former New England examples from secretary of educational affairs in Providence, R.I., Worcester and Massachusetts. Cronin was also the Fitchburg, Mass., New London, Conn., founding executive director of the and Boston. International Center for Distance In the 19th century, John Henry Learning in Boston. Newman urged universities to remain aloof, so scholars could criticize the imperfections of society. Today, there The book is skillfully edited by for- is strong support for the “engaged uni- K-12 Partnerships mer New York Times editor Gene versity,” exemplified by the New Joseph M. Cronin Maeroff, National Center for Public England Board of Higher Education’s Policy and Higher Education President 1999 Future of New England survey, The Learning Connection: New Pat Callan and former Connecticut which revealed that 86 percent of Partnerships Between Schools and Higher Education Commissioner “opinion leaders” in government, busi- Colleges, Gene L. Maeroff, Patrick M. Michael Usdan. ness, education and the media want Callan and Michael D. Usdan, Twelve chapters by journalists at colleges to reach out to help improve Teachers College Press, 2001, $20.95 metropolitan daily newspapers recount the public schools. how a dozen higher education institu- In a concluding chapter, the editors America’s colleges and universities are tions during the l990s pledged suggest these fascinating examples the best in the world. Other nations send resources to make a difference. might not be adaptable to settings 500,000 students each year to the United Examples: Twenty-two California where presidents are less charismatic States, more than 75,000 of those to New State Universities committed to help and trustees less supportive. Shame on England schools. Yet our public schools 232 local high schools prepare students us in New England if we don’t prove have struggled to hold onto 20th place for the rigors of university studies. The them wrong. internationally, despite brave predic- University of Southern Colorado made tions a decade ago by then-President the local school superintendent in Joseph M. Cronin is president of George H.W. Bush and Arkansas Gov. Pueblo a university vice president to Edvisors Inc. He is a former presi- Bill Clinton that we might rank first by signal unity of purpose and the start of dent of Bentley College and former 2000. Japan, Korea, Singapore, and most joint education ventures in the steel secretary of educational affairs in Scandinavian nations beat us academi- mill community. Penn’s Center for Massachusetts. Cronin was also the cally at the K-12 level. Community Partnerships developed a founding executive director of the As University of Pennsylvania model of faculty and student involve- International Center for Distance Professor Ira Harkavy, director of ment in community problem-solving Learning in Boston.

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 47 CAMPUS

AMHERST, MASS. —The University of scholar program, training for two inter- Research to help New England resi- Massachusetts Amherst and a group of national journalists each year and con- dents with spinal cord injuries make partners including Springfield Technical ferences bringing together editors and transitions back to their homes, jobs Community College were awarded a reporters with scientists, doctors and and communities. The program will two-year, $600,000 grant from the policymakers. provide wellness education, personal- National Science Foundation to identify ized fitness programs, accessibility technological strengths of the surround- DURHAM, N.H. —The University of training and other services for up to 80 ing Pioneer Valley and develop strate- New Hampshire and New Hampshire people in Maine, Massachusetts, New gies to attract new companies to the Department of Health and Human Hampshire and Vermont. area. UMass officials noted that the pro- Services initiated a program awarding ject dovetails with an interstate effort to full in-state tuition and other resources ORONO, MAINE —Researchers from promote the Greater Hartford-Pioneer to five undergraduate social work stu- the University of Maine’s Advanced Valley area as a single market known as dents and three grad students who Engineered Wood Composites Center New England’s Knowledge Corridor. agree to work for the state Division of were awarded a $1.5 million grant from Children, Youth and Families one year the Federal Highway Administration to SOUTH ROYALTON, VT. —Vermont Law for every year they receive the support. study the effects of repeated highway School received a three-year, $300,000 The state also provided UNH with loadings on the long-term durability of grant from the William and Flora funds to track the students’ careers glue-laminated timber beams bolstered Hewlett Foundation of California to and develop a website focusing on the with fiber-reinforced polymer compos- explore the relationship between gov- needs of child welfare workers. ites. Researchers will test beams under ernment agencies and the businesses accelerated loads and various environ- and citizens affected by their deci- AMHERST, MASS. —The University of mental conditions and refine a mathe- sions. The program will examine con- Massachusetts Amherst was awarded matical model to predict beam stitutional or statutory prohibitions a one-year, $215,000 grant from the performance. and restrictions on agencies’ use of Nellie Mae Foundation to study how consensus processes and explore alter- changes in education policy affect New BOSTON, MASS. —Northeastern natives to “command and control” reg- England students, particularly minori- University and partners were awarded a ulation in which legal requirements are ty and low-income students, as they five-year, $16.2 million grant from the set by federal agencies and firms are move from K-12 through college. Using National Science Foundation to develop obligated to meet the standards. surveys and other tools, UMass new technologies to detect and image researchers will study the effects objects and conditions underground, ORONO, MAINE —Two University of of high-stakes tests such as underwater, in manmade structures or Maine researchers were awarded a the Massachusetts Comprehensive embedded within living tissue. The two-year, $30,000 grant from the Sea Assessment System exam and new research could lead to advances in med- Grant College Program to administer curricular expectations at the K-12 ical imaging and sensors to detect annual volunteer monitoring and tech- level, as well as new admissions, finan- underground pollution or hidden bridge nical assessment of changes at 10 cial aid and remedial education pro- damage. The Center for Subsurface Maine beaches. The grant also sup- grams at the college level. Sensing and Imaging Systems brings ports an annual State of Maine’s together researchers from Northeastern, Beaches conference to discuss the sta- NEW HAVEN, CONN. —Yale University Boston University, Massachusetts tus of the beaches and ways to protect was awarded a four-year, $4.6 million General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s property values and recreation oppor- grant by the National Institute of Hospital and Woods Hole tunities. Researchers hope to forge a Mental Health’s Human Brain Project Oceanographic Institution, as well as cooperative approach to beach man- to help organize the enormous volumes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the agement between coastal communities of neuroscience research data being University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and the state. generated by scientists. As part of the and Lawrence Livermore National project, a special database will allow Laboratory. BOSTON, MASS. —Boston University’s researchers to deposit unpublished College of Communication was award- gene sequences and run searches to HOLYOKE, MASS. —A partnership ed $1.2 million by the Knight determine whether other similar between Holyoke Community College Foundation to train editors and sequences have been published. and Ukraine’s Poltava Cooperative reporters to report on medical and sci- Institute was awarded a three-year, entific issues. The Science and Medical DURHAM, N.H. —The University of $200,000 grant by the U.S. State Journalism Center, set to open in fall New Hampshire was awarded a three- Department to support one-month and 2001, will build on the college’s mas- year, $450,000 grant by the U.S. full-semester exchanges between faculty ter’s program in science journalism. Department of Education’s National and administrators of the two colleges. The center will also feature a visiting Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Drawing on the Learning Communities

48 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION CAMPUS model developed at Holyoke to teach the Kresge Foundation toward the $2.7 established by Albert L. Gibney and his seemingly disparate subjects together as million expansion and renovation of an wife Jane will help establish an across- a single discipline, participating faculty old gymnasium and assembly hall build- the-curriculum approach to speaking will restructure the Ukrainian institute’s ing into a modern facility with seven modeled on writing-across-the-cur- international economics and interna- high-technology classrooms, 13 faculty riculum programs. Colby-Sawyer last tional management programs and design offices, and an atrium-style student year adopted a plan to bolster financial courses that integrate English with vari- lounge. Under terms of the grant, Lasell aid, hire additional faculty and build ous business disciplines. must raise $1.5 million by July 1, 2001. new facilities as it attempts to increase enrollment from the current 850 to WENHAM, MASS. —Gordon College NEW LONDON, N.H. —Colby-Sawyer 1,000 by the end of the decade. and Silliman University in the College received a $1 million gift from Philippines formally agreed to retired Boston bank executive Harry WALTHAM, MASS. —Brandeis exchange faculty, staff, students and W. Anderson to provide 20 new schol- University received a $10 million gift guest lecturers and to collaborate on arships worth $5,000 each. The college from Seattle businessman and univer- course design, research initiatives and also received a $1 million gift from sity trustee Samuel Stroum and his cultural programs. The two Christian 1948 graduate Natalie Davis Rooke and wife, Althea. Nearly half the gift will be colleges have already cooperated in her husband Robert to buy and develop used to endow 16 full-tuition, four-year marine biology programs with Gordon a 20-acre residential property adjacent scholarships allowing four new conducting field studies in the tropical to the campus, as well as $1.1 million Waltham High School graduates to waters of the Philippines. from 1941 graduate Ramona Wells study at Brandeis each year. Stroum Mercer and her husband William, a for- graduated from Waltham High in 1939. WATERVILLE, MAINE —Thomas mer trustee, to renovate the college’s The gift will also create two endowed College and Boston-based Putnam exercise and sports science center and funds to support international busi- Investments introduced a new work- create scholarships. Another $1 million ness education and science and tech- study program and training center to gift from a charitable remainder trust nology research. be housed at Thomas College. Beginning in January, the mutual fund company will train and hire up to 45 Thomas students to work in a state-of- the-art, customer-service facility on the Thomas campus. Putnam also plans to use the facility to expand its popular program recruiting Maine res- idents to work from their homes using telecommunications in jobs ranging from customer service to manage- ment. Putnam began a similar relation- ship with Husson College last spring.

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. —The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Southern New England School of Law unveiled a joint MBA/JD program allowing law students to earn a master’s degree in business administration from the UMass Dartmouth business school, which is accredited by the AACSB. Students pay tuition and fees to both institutions, but the combined degree program allows some UMass courses to be taken in place of more expensive courses at the private law school and saves students one full semester of coursework.

NEWTON, MASS. —Lasell College was awarded a $400,000 challenge grant from

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 49 Online: Selected Websites

Gender Equity Educational Testing Service, Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for www.ets.org Mathematics and Science Education, Advocates for Women in Science, www.enc.org Engineering & Mathematics, The Futures Project: Policy for Higher www.awsem.com Education in a Changing World, Institute for Educational Leadership, www.futuresproject.org www.iel.org American Association of University Women, www.aauw.org GoTRAIN, A Guide to Vocational International Society for Technology in Training Schools, www.gotrain.com Education, www.iste.org Association for Women in Computing, www.awc-hq.org The Institute for Higher Education Learning First Alliance, Policy, www.ihep.com www.learningfirst.org Association for Women in Mathematics, www.awm-math.org NAFSA: Association of International National Association of State Boards Educators, www.nafsa.org of Education, www.nasbe.org Association for Women in Science, www.awis.org National Center for Public Policy National Board for Professional and Higher Education, Teaching Standards, www.nbpts.org Center for the Education of Women, www.highereducation.org www.umich.edu/~cew National Center on Education and the National Education Association, Economy, www.ncee.org Center for Women & Enterprise, www.nea.org www.cweboston.org National Council for Accreditation of New England Adult Research Network, Teacher Education, www.ncate.org Committee on the Status of Women www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~ in Astronomy, www.aas.org/~cswa National Education Goals Panel, vjacoby/nearnet www.negp.gov Equity Education Online, New England Association of Schools www.etdc.wednet.edu/equity National Parent Teacher Association, and Colleges, www.neasc.org www.pta.org InGear: Integrating Gender Equity New England Regional Association of and Reform, www2.gasou.edu/ingear National Research Council, Language Lab Directors, www.nas.edunrc Institute for Research on Women and www.marlboro.edu/~neralld Gender, www.umich.edu~irwg National School Boards Association, New England Resource Center for www.nsba.org Institute for Women in Technology, Higher Education, www.nerche.org www.iwt.org New American Schools, New Hampshire College and University www.newamericanschools.org Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Council, www.nhcuc.org www.iwpr.org Northeast and Island Regional Postsecondary Education Opportunity, Education Laboratory, National Association for Female www.postsecondary.org www.lab.brown.edu Executives, www.nafe.com Student Aid Alliance, Parents for Public Schools, New England Women Business Owners, www.StudentAidAlliance.org www.parents4publicschools.com www.newbo.org U.S. Department of Education, Public Education Network, Society of Women Engineers, www.ed.gov www.publiceducation.org www.swe.org Women in Business Connection, K-12 Policy, Research, www.wibconnection.org New England Regional Advocacy Women’s Educational Equity Act Organizations Resource Center, Achieve, www.achieve.org Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, www.edc.org/WomensEquity American Association of Colleges for www.bos.frb.org Teacher Education, www.aacte.org New England Board of Higher Education, Higher Education Policy, American Association of School www.nebhe.org or Research,Advocacy Administrators, www.aasa.org www.newenglandonline.com American Council on Education, American Federation of Teachers, New England Canada Business Council, www.acenet.edu www.aft.org www.bridgew.edu/necbc Association of Independent Colleges Association for Supervision and The New England Council, and Universities in Massachusetts, Curriculum Development, www.newenglandcouncil.com www.masscolleges.com www.ascd.org New England Economic Project, The College Board, Council of Chief State School Officers, www.neepecon.org www.collegeboard.org www.ccsso.org New England Governors’ Conference, Connecticut Conference of Independent Council of the Great City Schools, www.tiac.net/users/negc/ Colleges, www.theccic.org www.cgcs.org New England Museum Association, Council of Graduate Schools, Education Commission of the States, www.nemanet.org www.cgsnet.org www.ecs.org New England Newspaper Association, Council of Presidents of New England Education Development Center, www.nenews.org Land Grant Universities, www.edc.org New England Press Association, www.necop.org The Education Trust, www.edtrust.org www.nepa.org The Education Resources Institute, www.teri.org

50 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION Northeast-Midwest Institute, State Economic The SmartStudent Guide to www.nemw.org Development Agencies Financial Aid, www.finaid.org Smaller Business Association of New Connecticut Department of Economic Student Loan Marketing Assn., England, www.sbane.org and Community Development, www.salliemae.com U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics-Region 1, www.state.ct.us/ecd Ver mont Student Assistance www.bls.gov/ro1home Maine Department of Economic and Corporation, www.vsac.org Community Development, Philanthropy www.econdevmaine.com Technology Organizations Massachusetts Department of Economic Associated Grantmakers, The American Indian Science & Development, www.state.ma.us/econ www.agmconnect.org Engineering Society, www.aises.org New Hampshire Department of The Catalogue for Philanthropy, American Society for Engineering Resources and Economic Development, www.catphilanthropy.org Education, www.asee.org http://ded.state.nh.us The Center for Effective Philanthropy, CorpTech, www.corptech.com Rhode Island Economic Development www.effectivephilanthropy.com Corp., www.riedc.com Institute of Electrical and Electronics The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Engineers, www.ieee.org Ver mont Department of Economic www.philanthropy.com Development, www.det.state.vt.us Maine Science and Technology The Council of Foundations, Foundation, www.mainescience.org www.cof.org State Higher Massachusetts Technology Forum of Regional Associations of Collaborative, www.mtpc.org Education Agencies Grantmakers, www.rag.org Massachusetts Telecom Council, The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Connecticut Department of www.masstel.org Organizations (Harvard University), Higher Education, www.ctdhe.org National Action Council for Minorities www.ksghauser.harvard.edu in Engineering, www.nacme.org Independent Sector, www.indepsec.org Maine Department of Education, www.state.me.us/education National Consortium for Graduate More than Money, Degrees for Minorities in Engineering www.MorethanMoney.org Massachusetts Board of Higher and Science, www.nd.edu/~gem Education, www.mass.edu The Philanthropic Initiative, National Research Council, www.tpi.org New Hampshire Postsecondary www.nas.edu/nrc Education Commission, Social Welfare Research Institute www.state.nh.us/postsecondary National Society of Black Engineers, (Boston College), www.nsbe.org www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/gsas/swri Rhode Island Office of Higher Education, www.uri.edu/ribog Northeast Center for The Lincoln Filene Center (Tufts Telecommunications Technologies, University), ase.tufts.edu/lfc Ver mont Department of Education, www.nctt.org www.state.vt.us/educ Society for the Advancement of Publishers Chicanos and Native Americans in American Council on Education/Oryx Student Aid Science, www.sacnas.org Press, www.oryxpress.com American Student Assistance, United States Telecom Association, Association of American University www.amsa.com www.usta.org Presses, aaup.uchicago.edu College is Possible Campaign, Brookings Institution Press, www.collegeispossible.org Other www.brookings.edu College Savings Plans Network, Campus Compact, www.compact.org Harvard University Press, www.collegesavings.org CampusTours.Com, www.hup.harvard.edu Fastweb, www.fastweb.com www.campustours.com The MIT Press, mitpress.mit.edu Finance Authority of Maine, Campus Visit, www.campusvisit.com Northeastern University Press, www.famemaine.com Corporation for Enterprise www.neu.edu/nupress The Financial Aid Counselor, Development, www.cfed.org Teachers College Press, www.findaid.com Council of State Governments, www.teacherscollegepress.com Higher Education Information Center, www.csg.org University of Massachusetts Press, www.edinfo.org Electronic Policy Network, www.umass.edu/umpress Maine Education Services, www.epn.org University Press of New England, www.mesfoundation.com Institute for Global Communications, www.dartmouth.edu/acad-inst/upne Nellie Mae, www.nelliemae.com www.igc.org Yale University Press, New England Dollars for Scholars, Job Openings in Higher Education, www.yale.edu/yup www.dollarsforscholarsne.org www.gslis.utexas.edu/~acadres/jobs New Hampshire Higher Education Nellie Mae Foundation, Assistance Foundation, www.nhheaf.org www.nelliemaefoundation.org

CONNECTION WINTER 2001 51 DATA CONNECTION

■ Percentage of college graduates under age 30 who say being a teacher provides a more important benefit to society than their own job does: 80% ■ Percentage who say teachers are seriously underpaid: 78% ■ Percentage of students who believe it is an instructor’s responsibility to keep them attentive in class: 53% ■ Rank of suicide among leading causes of death for American college students: 2 ■ Chance an American thinks newspapers should not be allowed to report or publish without government approval: 1 in 5 ■ Percentage of rural New Hampshire students who are white: 99% ■ Increase in Hispanic enrollment in rural New Hampshire schools, 1994-97: 53% ■ Increase in real median wages in Maine between 1979 and 1989: 11% ■ Increase between 1989 and 1999: 2% ■ Percentage of high school graduates from high-income families who immediately enroll in college: 77% ■ Percentage of high school graduates from low-income families who do: 46% ■ Percentage of white high school graduates who immediately enroll: 69% ■ Percentage of African-American high school graduates who do: 62% ■ Percentage of Hispanic high school graduates who do: 47% ■ Average annual income of Connecticut residents with high school diplomas: $21,680 ■ Average annual income of Connecticut residents with bachelor’s degrees: $40,695 ■ Percentage of U.S. college students who will study abroad at some time before completing their studies: 3% ■ Percentage of U.S. executives who say email, videoeconferencing and other technologies have decreased the amount of business traveling they do: 63% ■ Percentage of U.S. executives who say they are working more hours today than five years ago: 68% ■ Percentage of U.S. schools that have some type of connection to the Internet: 95% ■ Percentage of U.S. schools that did in 1994: 35% ■ Percentage of undergraduates at private U.S. universities who use the Internet once a day: 77% ■ Percentage of undergraduates at public U.S. universities who do: 60% ■ Average number of desktop computers serviced by a single technical support staff member at private U.S. universities: 8 ■ Average number serviced by a single technical support staff member at public community colleges: 52 ■ Pounds of computer equipment scrapped and recycled annually by Harvard University per individual Harvard student and employee: 5 ■ Pounds of salt donated to Johnson & Wales University by Morton Salt: 4,735 ■ Percentage of Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates who live in Massachusetts: 21% ■ Percentage of Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates who do: 59% ■ Of New England’s 25 highest-paid athletes, number who went to college in New England: 1 ■ Number of U.S. universities in the midst of capital campaigns to raise $1 billion or more: 17 ■ Number in New England: 1

Sources: 1,2 Public Agenda; 3 Michael Delucchi, assistant professor of sociology, Bridgewater State College; 4 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (Accidents rank No. 1.); 5 The Freedom Forum; 6,7 The Rural School and Community Trust; 8,9 Maine Center for Economic Policy; 10,11,12,13,14 U.S. Department of Education; 15,16 Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges; 17 American Council on Education; 18,19 Accountemps; 20,21 White House; 22,23,24,25 National Education Association; 26 Harvard University; 27 Johnson & Wales University; 28,29 Mass Insight Corp.; 30 NEBHE analysis of Boston Business Journal data (Eric Williams of the Boston Celtics went to Providence College); 31,32 Chronicle of Higher Education (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is in the midst of a $1.5 billion campaign.)

52 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION