The Emporia Gazette

May 28, 2012

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Calling on the state’s Regents universities to strive toward excellence, Gov. Mark Parkinson outlined at the Kansas Board of Regents’ retreat Tuesday a five-point, 10-year plan to improve the schools’ national rankings.

“All of us take pride in the rankings of our football and basketball teams,” Parkinson said in his speech. “... We would not be satisfied if we didn’t have a single sports team in the top 90, so why are we satisfied that we don’t have a single university in the top 90? I’m not satisfied.”

Going by rankings from U.S. News & World Report, Parkinson said the state’s schools are not doing as well as they should be. Rankings are important, Parkinson said, because they reflect excellence, and success perpetuates success.

Emporia State president Michael Lane was not at Tuesday’s retreat and did not hear Parkinson’s address. He was headed to the retreat this morning, however.

Lane said this morning that he agrees with the governor on many points, and ESU is already on track to meet those goals.

“I think (Parkinson)’s trying to set an agenda for higher education in Kansas that will move it forward,” Lane said, adding that ESU completed a strategic plan last year that will be sent to the governor to show the school’s progress.

Much of Parkinson’s address focused on U.S. News & World Report rankings. The magazine ranks schools in several different categories. Kansas has three National Universities in the list of 260 — the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University. The other schools, including Emporia State University, Washburn, Fort Hays State University and Pittsburg State University, are in the Master’s category and are ranked against 141 other schools in the Midwest.

In the Master’s category, only the top 70 schools are ranked. Schools rated between 71 and 104 are considered third tier and the rest are fourth tier.

Emporia, Fort Hays and Pittsburg are all rated in the third tier; Washburn is ranked 36th.

In the National category, KU is ranked 96th, K-State is in the third tier and WSU is in the fourth tier.

“We can do better,” Parkinson said. “If we are to compete with even our neighbor states, we must do better. But the 21st century doesn’t afford us that low of a bar. We must compete with the entire country, in fact the entire developing and developed world. We can do better, we must do better and we will do better.”

Parkinson’s 10-year plan calls for at least one Kansas school to be ranked in the top 50, a second in the top 100 and no Kansas school in the fourth tier, as well as improved rankings in specialty programs like KU’s law school and medical school, K-State’s veterinary school and all engineering schools.

The plan also calls for improved retention and graduation rates. The retention rate is the percentage of freshmen who return after their first year; the graduation rate is the percentage of students who graduate within six years.

ESU’s retention rate is 71 percent; it’s graduation rate is 44 percent.

Lane mentioned that rankings can be a problem because they don’t account for all the numbers. For example, if a student starts at ESU working toward a chemistry degree, then transfers to K-State for an engineering degree, neither school gets credit for graduating that student.

The governor also stressed the importance of helping graduates in their careers.

“We need data not just on where our students are going, but what they are doing and what sort of success they are experiencing,” Parkinson said. “That will help us make changes necessary to shape our programs for success.”

State funding is a big concern for the universities — administrators at Regents schools have struggled this year with extensive budget cuts. Parkinson addressed problems with the Legislature’s support of the universities.

“The Kansas Legislature’s willingness to support higher education has been spotty at best,” Parkinson said. “But my belief is that the Legislature will fund success.”

Lane said he appreciated the governor’s mention of state funding, and that it will cost money for the schools to achieve their goals.

“With the significant decreases we’ve had in our funding this year, we’re going to be way behind in starting over,” Lane said. “... There are going to have to be some important decisions made in the Legislature. ... They’re going to have to decide how important investment in higher education in the state of Kansas is.”