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Meeting of the Board of Regents | October 2008

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 9:15am

                                                                       Report of

                                     REGENTS HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE

                                                                              to

                                                           The Board of Regents

October 21, 2008

 

              Your Higher Education Committee held its scheduled meeting on October 21, 2008.   All members were present.

 

Action Items

 

Consent Agenda

 

              Your Committee recommends that the Regents approve the changes in the lists of designated physician shortage areas described in Attachment 1 of the item with an effective date of January 1, 2009.  [HE (CA) 1]

 

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approve the following appointments to the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching: April D. McKoy (school administrator) to a four-year term beginning October 21, 2008 and ending June 30, 2012; and Diane L. Rowe (public) to an unexpired term beginning October 21, 2008 and ending June 30, 2010.    [HE (CA) 2]

 

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents repeal section 80-5.5 and add a new section 80-5.5 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to the employment of retired persons in public school districts, boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) and county vocational education and extension boards as submitted, effective November 13, 2008.   [HE (CA) 3]

 

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents amend section 150.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to state aid awards for high needs nursing programs at certain independent colleges and universities, as submitted, effective November 13, 2008.  [HE (CA) 4]

 

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents authorize Laboratory Institute of Merchandising to award the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree and approve a master plan amendment authorizing LIM to offer a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program in Fashion Management and Entrepreneurship.  This item was amended to reflect the tuition per semester at LIM to be $9,650, not $19,000 as stated in the item.  This amendment will be effective until October 31, 2009, unless the program is registered by the Department prior to that date, in which case master plan amendment shall be without term.  [HE (CA) 5]

 

 

 

 

MOTION FOR ACTION BY FULL BOARD

 

              Mr. Chancellor and Colleagues:  Your Higher Education Committee recommends, and I move, that the Board of Regents act affirmatively upon each recommendation in the written report of the Committee's deliberations at its meeting on October 21, 2008, copies of which have been distributed to each Regent.

 

                                      MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

 

Proposal to Address Statewide Shortages of Teachers of Languages Other Than English (LOTE) – The Committee discussed the certification requirements for teachers of languages other than English (LOTE).  Teacher supply and demand data has shown that in school years 2005-06 and 2006-07, there were severe shortages of LOTE teachers in every region of the state.  The Committee discussed the recommendation that candidates who have an acceptable level of language proficiency and cross-cultural competency be permitted to take two rigorous, internationally recognized examinations and, upon achieving a score of Intermediate High/Advanced Low on each, be permitted to use this in lieu of up to 30 semester hours of the content hours required for certification, while keeping all other certification requirements the same.  This would include the satisfactory completion of the New York State Teacher Certification Examination’s Content Specialty Test (CST) in the target language.  The Committee endorsed the recommendation for flexibility by providing alternative ways to allow prospective teachers of languages other than English to meet certification requirements without compromising teacher quality.   [HE (D) 1]

 

Impact of Attrition and Budget Cuts on P-16 Capacity – The Committee discussed the impact of the 10.35 percent cut in both state operations and special revenue funds, a hard hiring freeze and the loss of several key staff on capacity in P-16 to successfully meet our goals.  This discussion was held at both the EMSC and the Higher Education Committee meetings and gave both committees a fuller picture of current staff capacity (including 42 positions available to fill and expectations for more losses through retirement), what we have as priorities and what we are doing to address capacity issues for now and in the near future.  Any additional cuts to state operations will further impact staffing and core programs.  [HE (D) 2]

 

Student Lending Accountability, Transparency and Enforcement Act (SLATE) – Your Committee received an update on the implementation of SLATE (Student Lending, Accountability, Transparency and Enforcement Act). Within that report, staff provided a comparison between the provisions of SLATE and the provisions of the newly enacted federal Higher Education Opportunity Act, noting many areas of similarity. The Senior Deputy Commissioner and Counsel will be meeting with the Attorney General's staff later this month, to explore possible options given the absence of funding to implement SLATE and the comparability between the State and federal statutes regarding student lending.

 

 

Proposed Regents 2009 State and Federal Legislative Priorities – The Committee discussed the proposals that the Regents will consider for inclusion in their 2009-10 legislative priorities.   A suggestion was made to look further into the section 211 waiver legislation passed earlier this year and see if there are ways to help school districts hire the leadership and teachers they need.  [BR (D) 2]

 

              That concludes our report.

 

 

                                                                                                  _______________________________

                                                                                            Harry Phillips, 3rd, Co-Chairperson

 

 

                                                                                            ________________________________

                                                                                            Milton L. Cofield, Co-Chairperson