NBC29State Commission Begins Work on Higher Education

State Commission Begins Work on Higher Education

A newly appointed state commission that's supposed to fix Virginia's higher education system, including how much it costs, began working on the problem Monday.

Governor Bob McDonnell is making the new state commission a priority, because he said education and economy are directly related. He has a clear mandate: "Find more access to the American dream for our young people at an affordable price. It's about that simple."

However, that simple statement translates into plenty of work for the governor's Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (R)said, "Don't just assume that we always have to do things the way we've been doing it just because we've always done it that way."

Panel members will look for ways to make colleges run more efficiently as state funding has dwindled. Bolling said, "Higher education has not received the proper recognition that it deserves in the budgeting process in Virginia for quite some time."

Schools continue to raise their tuition and fees, and the cost to attend college in Virginia has doubled over the last decade. "I call that an unsustainable level of tuition growth," said McDonnell.

Members of the state commission also must work to draft a plan to award thousands of additional degrees, and to increase a focus on science, technology and math programs. The governor hopes this will attract employers, jobs and economic development to the commonwealth.

McDonnell said, "Those states and those nations that provide the best trained and best motivated workforce are going to be the ones that are going to be the leaders in the global economy for decades to come."

One big concern for this panel is working around the loss of stimulus money for colleges, which runs out in 2012. The governor's upcoming budget plan will take that into consideration.

Reported by Adam Rhew
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