Making Opportunity Affordable Grant Lumina Foundation’s Making Opportunity Affordable Grant

Making Opportunity Affordable What is MOA? Administered through the Lumina Foundation for Education A multi-year initiative focused on increasing productivity within U.S. higher education Focused specifically on two-year and four-year public colleges and universities What is the purpose of MOA? To use dollars invested by students, parents and taxpayers to graduate more students Focused on getting more degrees for dollars spent Lumina relies on partner organizations working within selected states to develop, promote and implement policies and practices that will help states graduate more individuals with baccalaureate degrees. The MOA initiative relies on three mutually reinforcing pathways to provide greater opportunity and mobility for students: Increase and reward completion—States should set aside significant portions of their higher education budgets to reward greater completion rates at a lower cost. Generate and reinvest savings—Make the best use of available dollars Educate and train in affordable ways—Higher education is a prime candidate for innovation, such as entirely new ways of cost-effectively delivering degree programs. SOURCE: MOA STATE ACTION-ARIZONA

The Making Opportunity Affordable Grants Arizona was one of 11 states to receive a $150,000 “Learning Year Grant” to develop innovative strategies and sustainable improvements in degree productivity. As such, Arizona was eligible to compete for one of five, $2 million “Opportunity Grants” to implement its strategy over four years. Our grant application was submitted on Sept. 1, 2009. Arizona is on of eleven states that received a $150,000 grant to develop innovative strategies in key policy areas to promote sustainable improvements in student productivity in higher education. Arizona’s grant application for the Opportunity Grant was submitted on Sept. 1, 2009. Announcement of grant recipients will be made in November. SOURCE: MOA STATE ACTIONS-ARIZONA

Making the Case A series of questions for audience members….. Demographers predict that in 2020, about what percentage of Americans will have a bachelor’s degree? 15% 25% 33% 45% Answer: C. It is projected that about 1 of 3 Americans will have a bachelor’s degree in 2020; in 2000, fewer than 1 in 4 Arizonans will have a bachelor’s degree. If past trends continue, Arizona will fall short of the national average by about 220,000.

Making the Case Squeeze Play 2009 presents the public’s views on college costs today. What percent of those interviewed think that a college education is necessary for a person to be successful in today’s work world? 35% 45% 55% 65% Squeeze Play 2009, using 2008 interview results, is a report prepared by Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The two organizations have been tracking public attitudes toward higher education since 1963. Answer: C – 55%. This is the highest percent since the question was first asked and is 5 percentage points higher than 2007 data. In 2000, 3 out of 10 individuals felt a college education was a necessity.

Making the Case What percentage of survey respondents do you think “agreed” that currently, the vast majority of people who are qualified to go to college have the opportunity to do so? 29% 36% 37% 45% 49% Answer A. The percentages reflect results from 2008, 2007, 2003, 2000, 1998. You can see that each year, even as more respondents believe a college education is critical, lower numbers believe that the opportunities exist for qualified students.

Making the Case How well did Arizona perform on the national higher education report card, Measuring Up 2008? Preparation – How adequately does the state prepare students for education and training beyond high school? Arizona scored: A B C D F Since 2000, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation, has annually issued its Measuring Up report card. Answer: D. Arizona’s underperformance in educating its young population could limit the state’s access to a competitive workforce and weaken the state’s economy. Eighth-graders perform very poorly in math, science, reading and writing. Arizona is rated the lowest in the nation on college-going rate for recent high school graduates: 44.8% to national average of 61.6% (source: NCHEMS Study)

Making the Case Participation –Do state residents have sufficient opportunities to enroll in education and training beyond high school? Arizona scored: A B C D F Answer: A. While Arizona does well in providing educational opportunities for working-age adults, too few young adults enroll in college. As noted earlier, enrollment by age 19 lags well behind other states. Only 3 states, Vermont, Hawaii, New Mexico, have a greater difference in college attainment levels between adults aged 45-54 and those aged 25-34. Eighteen percent of Hispanic young adults are enrolled in college, compared with 40% of whites.

Making the Case Affordability – How affordable is higher education for students and their families? Arizona scored: A B C D F Answer: F. Financial aid to low-income students is low. For every dollar in Pell Grant aid to students, the state spends only 3 cents – very limited state need-based aid. Arizona participation rates for students from low-income families is nearly last in the nation.

Making the Case Completion – Do students make progress toward and complete their certificates or degrees in a timely manner? Arizona scored: A B C D F Answer B. Arizona performs well in awarding certificates and degrees relative to the number of students enrolled, but few students attain a bachelor’s degree in a timely manner. Forty-three percent of college students complete a bachelor’s degree within 6 years.

Making the Case Benefits –What benefits does the state receive from having a highly educated population? Arizona scored: A B C D F Answer B-. A fairly small proportion of residents have a bachelor’s degree, which brings limited economic benefits to the state. Ten percent of Hispanics have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 34% of whites. If all racial/ethnic groups had the same education attainment and earning as whites, total annual personal income in the state would be about $15 billion higher. People without a degree also benefit as others become more educated. A recent study found that a 1 percentage point increase in the proportion of a state’s population with a bachelor’s degree raises wages in all educational attainment groups, even those without a college degree. This benefit ranged from about 1.2% for workers with some college to almost 2% for those with less than a high school diploma (think The World is Flat.)

Arizona’s Key Indicators What Arizona Faces Dramatic growth in the least educated segments of the population Labor market trends that demand more college-educated workers Arizona’s challenging goal is to double the number of bachelor’s degree graduates by 2020 Percentage of Adults with an Associate’s Degree or Higher 2005 2025 Arizona 35% 42% U.S. 37% 46% Top States (median) 63% Like a number of other states in the West, Arizona faces a daunting combination of forces-dramatic growth in the least educated segments of its population coupled with labor market trends that demand more college educated workers. Taken together, these indicators underscore the importance of the state’s goal of doubling the number of bachelor’s degree graduates by 2020—and the difficult path to meeting that goal. To meet the benchmark for international competitiveness (at least 55 percent of adults with an associate’s degree or higher) by 2025 with no change in completion rates or spending per degree, Arizona would have to increase state higher education spending by 90 percent above inflation by 2025, assuming no increase in tuition. Meeting the competitiveness benchmark with no increase in state funding would require above-inflation tuition increases of 219 percent at community colleges and 111 percent for public 4-year universities by 2025. SOURCE: NCHEMS

SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK What We Found During Our Learning Year Arizona relies almost exclusively on the three public universities to produce baccalaureate and higher degrees Arizona has extraordinary opportunity to take advantage of transfer potential between community colleges and universities Arizona has an absence of ongoing policy leadership concerned with all of postsecondary education Arizona is productive! Arizona relies almost exclusively on public sector institutions to produce baccalaureate and higher degrees, as there are no public baccalaureate/master’s institutions, the state’s three research universities carry this responsibility. Changes in public policy therefore will presage the success of our efforts Arizona has extraordinary opportunity to take advantage of transfer potential, allowing us to convert a large number of students to baccalaureate‐seekers through improved policies and practices. Absence in Arizona of an ongoing policy leadership capacity concerned with all of postsecondary education.” Such an ongoing capacity would identify priorities, create capacity to respond to those priorities, devise new financing mechanisms and maintain databases and analytic expertise to support strategic decision making. Arizona is productive. We are tied for 8th place nationally in degrees and certificates awarded per 100 FTE students; 18th in total funding per degree/certificate (weighted); and 16th in productivity of institutions (Delta Cost Study, July 2009). Even so, there is significant room for improvement in retention and completion results and with underserved students SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK

The Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative The purpose of the Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative is to complete a comprehensive redesign of the state’s higher education system in order to: Expand capacity Serve more students at a lower cost Achieve completion and degree goals Our Learning Year led us to conclude: Piecemeal efforts, or nibbling around the margins, will not get the overall job done Business‐as‐usual will yield inadequate results The status quo is unacceptable A new, bold, comprehensive solution is required that confronts all our challenges and moves us forward. Our Response to the Challenge The purpose of the Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative is to complete a comprehensive redesign of the state’s higher education system in order to expand capacity, serve more students at lower cost, and achieve completion and degree goals. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-RESPONSE TO CHALLENGES

Productivity Imperative (cont.) The productivity imperative will: Create a student-centered system that improves advisement and career planning Provides seamless pathways to the full range of statewide postsecondary opportunities Includes joint admission to both two-year and four-year institutions Track student success Partnership have already been established between community colleges and universities to provide for seamless transfer to BA/BS programs; guarantee transfer admissions; and develop selected 3:1 baccalaureate degree programs. These programs are up and running and will admit students Fall 2009. For the implementation grant period, our vision is to create a comprehensive on‐line system that encourages college attendance and success at all public and private institutions in Arizona by allowing multiple entries and pathways to all available information to citizens (middle school through adult learners) via a common portal. This student-centered system will also include a robust “e‐advising” system to increase access, provide academic planning tools and connect students with appropriate institutional processes. This new system will be built on existing statewide platforms, augmented with new software and new social media tools to encourage student participation. The timeliness and convenience of this new system should also encourage students – especially adult learners so critical to the achievement of degree production goals – to pursue higher education successfully. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK

Productivity Imperative (cont.) The productivity imperative will: Create four new institutional structures to produce more degrees at lower cost Deeply-integrated community college/university partnership campuses Regional universities established in partnership with community colleges New four-year baccalaureate campuses New collaborative Arizona Public University Centers Responding to the Board of Regents’ and the Governor’s calls for system‐wide transformation and corresponding to the MOA Team’s initiatives, the Council of Presidents developed an astonishing plan for expansion. a. Deeply‐integrated community college/university partnership campuses: Focusing on a range of high demand or high economic impact degrees, community colleges to deliver upper division content and shared student services on existing community college campuses, resulting in students being able to achieve baccalaureate degrees without transferring to an existing university campus. b. Regional universities established in partnership with community colleges: The universities will develop at least one Regional University, the first being a collaboration between NAU and Yavapai College (Prescott), which will fully integrate appropriate degree programs and services in shared space specifically designated for those programs. c. New baccalaureate campuses: The universities will develop several colleges, from 1,000 to 3,000 students each, offering baccalaureate degrees in high‐demand programs, at lower cost. d. New collaborative Arizona Public University Centers: The three universities will explore the feasibility of delivering content jointly at selected common locations. These new institutional arrangements will be successful only if they generate completions; the solutions contemplated will generate savings for re‐investment; and the entire effort represents a bold innovation to educate in more affordable ways. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK

Productivity Imperative (cont.) The productivity imperative will: Build a new Higher Education Finance Model for Arizona that will maximize predictability, productivity and sustainability. The new funding model design will include provisions for: A more streamlined funding system Incentivizing course, transfer and degree completion Generate and reinvesting savings Aligning state/local funding, tuition-setting and student financial aid Plan for an improved coordination/governance system to optimize statewide goals of accessibility, affordability, quality and accounting. None of Arizona’s goals for productivity improvement are achievable unless weaknesses in the postsecondary financial policies and funding models are overcome. The current funding model is more historical than logical. The base bears no resemblance to costs of delivery; only new enrollments (not total enrollments) are rewarded; there are no incentives for performance completion or achieving transfer successes; formulas do not provide relevant mission differentiation, especially for community colleges; funding, tuition‐setting and financial aid decisions are unaligned; and the new, lower‐cost structural solutions contemplated cannot be reflected. After an extensive review of financial policies and funding models in other states, and development of analytic frameworks for improved alignment in Arizona, a seven‐step plan will be pursued over the next two years: Reassess base funding adequacy, taking into account institutional mission, cost, program mix, enrollment and peer benchmarks; (2) Incorporate new lower‐cost delivery options and transfer policies designed to increase degree production; (3) Explore benchmarking methodologies for all institutions including accountability measures and performance targets; (4) Establish new budget request formats that are goal driven; (5) Align funding, tuition‐setting and student financial aid; (6) Incorporate outcomes‐based performance incentives; and (7) Explore ways to broaden capital investment options beyond current statutory limitations. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK

Productivity Imperative (cont.) The productivity imperative will coordinate governance. New interim Joint Council of Presidents State Community College Coordinating Board Overall Coordination and Governance Plan Developed Most external reviewers of Arizona postsecondary education identify the lack of coordination as a serious systemic shortcoming. The MOA Task Force on Coordination and Governance identified eleven governing boards and eight entities operating under constitutional, statutory or executive authority. The plan to remediate this situation involves three steps, operating over the next four years: • Establishing—immediately—an interim coordinating body, The Joint Council of Presidents, to (1) serve as the mechanism to provide needed coordination of program development and delivery across all sectors, and to reduce or eliminate unnecessary duplication; and (2) assist in the development of more permanent coordination and governance solutions. The JCP will be composed of two‐year and four‐year presidents. • Working across all sectors, and at the behest of Governor Brewer, securing establishment of a state board for community colleges (an earlier version of which had been eliminated in 2003). • Identifying over the out‐years, more permanent solutions to coordination and governance of Arizona postsecondary education that will maximize: effective statewide strategic planning; advocacy and public awareness; funding and financial equity; coordination of programs; oversight of transfer and articulation; alignment of metrics; and focus on student‐centeredness. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-OPERATIONAL PLAN

Productivity Imperative (cont.) The productivity imperative will: Developing a communications and public engagement program that raises awareness levels and identifies bold actions to achieve Arizona goals – through postsecondary education – for economic development, quality of life and social justice. Effective communications will be key to the success of the productivity initiative. Specifically, we will seek to garner buy‐in from key publics in the higher education trenches (faculty, parents and students) through champion‐building, in order to support changes in policy and practice over the long haul. We will also help to advance legislative and policy change through targeted engagement and leverage of influential key publics. Communication and outreach efforts will have a robust running start, thanks to partnerships and collaboration with several current initiatives that are focusing on different aspects of reforming our state’s education pipeline. It’s critical that collaboration occur with these other initiatives, so that together we can communicate the role and desired outcomes of each element of the Productivity Imperative to the many common key publics. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK

Why Lumina Should Award Arizona the Grant Arizona is a growth state where the future will be defined. Most of our growth will occur among the least‐educated. Arizona relies more heavily on public higher education than any other state. The Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative is a comprehensive solution—the totality of which will bring about optimum change on a statewide, not just a sector, basis. The Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative, done well, can prove to be a model for other states. Why Invest in the Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative? • Arizona is a growth state where the future will be defined. Contrasted with states that will see projected drops in high school graduates, Arizona will experience an increase by half by 2014, and an astonishing 82 percent, by 2021. • Most of our growth will occur among the least‐educated segment of our population. If great strides are to be made in student success with this segment, it will be achieved in Arizona. • Arizona relies more heavily on public higher education than nearly any other state; for historical reasons there simply isn’t a strong private college presence. Therefore, public policy is not only important, it is crucial for expanding opportunity at lower cost. For Lumina this represents a public policy laboratory like no other, and a showcase for the rest of the nation. • During the planning year, Arizona has demonstrated an openness to new ideas, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to act. The combination of dynamics in Arizona coalesces to form a climate for real change: New executive leadership, a new spirit of cooperation among sectors, and a dedicated, representative, risk taking MOA team, all tempered by a new sense of fiscal reality. • The Arizona Productivity Improvement Imperative is a comprehensive solution, the totality of which will bring about optimum change on a statewide, not just a sector, basis. • The Arizona Productivity Imperative, done well, can prove to be a model for other states. The change it anticipates has the potential to be scalable to other states, the results have the potential to be systemic, and its outcomes are highly likely to be sustainable. SOURCE: MOA PROPOSAL-SCOPE OF WORK

Questions?