NUMBER ONE (98)

By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of Virginia, including but not limited to Section 2.1-51.36 of the Code of Virginia, and subject to my continuing and ultimate authority and responsibility to act in such matters, I hereby create the Governor's Commission to Evaluate the Needs and Goals of Higher Education in Virginia in the 21st Century.

Preamble:

Virginia's public colleges and universities have long been recognized as leaders in the field of higher education. Virginia is blessed with some of the best colleges and universities in the nation. As Governor, I am committed to maintaining Virginia's national preeminence in higher education in the future.

As we embark upon the 21st Century, Virginia's higher education system faces many new and unprecedented challenges to maintain academic excellence, control costs and meet the educational needs of our students. Virginia can meet these challenges and our institutions of higher learning can excel in the changing environment ahead. It is important to remember that change not only brings new challenges, but new opportunities as well.

Virginia must act now to ensure that our public colleges and universities are positioned to compete in a world where the internet and other new technologies have liberated the classroom from the confines of bricks and mortar and where college graduates must be versed in software as well as Shakespeare. Our task is to prepare Virginia's institutions of higher education to produce graduates who can compete in the global economy coming in the 21st Century. In addition, we must encourage our public colleges and universities to become incubators for technological innovation and catalysts for economic enterprise.

As we move ahead, we must adhere to several core principles. First, Virginia's public colleges and universities must focus on serving the needs of their customers--the students and parents who rely upon them for education. Second, the quality of education cannot be compromised. Third, college education in Virginia must remain affordable for the parents and students who invest their incomes and savings in tuition. Fourth, we must make affordable cost and higher quality compatible goals. Fifth, no Virginian can be left behind because college tuition is too costly or the content of a college education is academically inadequate.

Finally, we must guarantee the people of Virginia that Virginia's institutions of higher education are accountable to their stockholders. The parents and students who pay tuition, the taxpayers who subsidize those tuitions, and the generous philanthropists who donate resources to our state institutions are all stockholders in our colleges and universities. As such, they deserve nothing less than educational excellence and financial accountability from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the public servants who steward its educational resources.

Duties:

The Commission is classified as a gubernatorial advisory commission in accordance with Sections 2.1-51.35 and 9-6.25 of the Code of Virginia. The Commission shall have the following specific duties:

The Commission shall advise the Governor regarding the methods for improving the process through which Virginia's public colleges and universities are funded. Specifically, the Commission should evaluate: how to make the current funding process more consistent and predictable; how to increase fiscal accountability; how to keep higher education in Virginia affordable; how to make cost and quality compatible objectives; and what incentive structures can be incorporated into the funding process that will encourage efficiency, innovation, and a focus on the quality of the students who graduate from our educational institutions instead of the quantity of resources spent.

The Commission shall advise the Governor on how the institutions, administrators, and faculty that comprise Virginia's system of higher education can be made more accountable to their stockholders (the taxpayers, the parents, and the private contributors who finance the system) for the quality of the academic content and the outcomes accomplished through the investment of public funds.

The Commission shall advise the Governor regarding mechanisms for assisting Virginia's public colleges and universities to become incubators of technological and economic enterprise in their local communities and throughout the Commonwealth.

The Commission shall advise the Governor on how Virginia can better prepare its public colleges and universities to meet the technological and competitive challenges of the 21st Century.

The Commission shall advise the Governor on how to help Virginia's public colleges and universities produce the kinds of graduates that the Commonwealth will require if it is to meet its workforce needs in the 21st Century and have a well educated, well informed, and involved citizenry.

The Commission shall take an inventory of the needs of higher education in Virginia essential to provide excellent educational opportunities and academic programs for Virginia's students.

Structure and Funding:

The Commission shall be composed of no more than 30 members, appointed by the Governor and serving at his pleasure. The Governor shall designate a Commission Chairman who will direct the Commission's work. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but shall receive reimbursement for expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.

The Governor will designate staff support as necessary for the conduct of the Commission's work during the term of its existence. The Commission's staff will include an Executive Director appointed by the Governor and other persons furnished by the Office of the Governor, the Offices of the Governor's Secretaries, the Department of Planning and Budget, the State Council of Higher Education, individual colleges and universities of the Commonwealth, and other such executive branch agencies as the Governor may designate.

The Governor hereby directs the Boards, Presidents and applicable administrators of each public college and university to cooperate fully in assisting the Commission in its work and promptly providing all information requested by the Commission. The Governor further directs the Boards of each public college and university to appoint an administrator to serve as liaison to the Commission in fulfilling all requests and needs of the Commission.

An estimated 6,600 hours of staff time will be required to support the work of the Commission. Necessary funding for the term of the Commission's existence shall be provided from such sources, both state appropriations and private contributions, as authorized by Section 2.1-51.37 of the Code of Virginia. Direct expenditures for the Commission's work are estimated to be $45,000.

The Commission shall make a final report to the Governor not later than December 31, 1998. It may issues interim reports and make recommendations at any time it deems necessary.

This Executive Order shall be effective upon its signing and shall remain in force and effect until December 31, 1998, unless amended or rescinded by further executive order.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia this 17th day of January 1998.

Reproduced for the Perspectives Web Page.