On April 18, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum submitted his proposed budget guidelines for 2019-2021, which include a 10 percent reduction in the state鈥檚 per-credit-hour funding formula for higher education.[1]聽 This cut, a loss of over $50 million in state appropriation dollars, 鈥渉as system leaders on notice,鈥 according to an April 19 article in the Fargo Forum. 聽If the governor鈥檚 proposal is approved by the legislature, North Dakota鈥檚 higher ed budget will have been cut by about one-third in just four years.[2]
Although the governor has stated that specific cuts are up to university and college administrators, institutions鈥 choices are likely to be affected by the governor鈥檚 higher education task force, appointed in December 2017. One of the group鈥檚 primary objectives is to explore higher ed practices in other states to determine what steps, including budgetary changes, should become part of North Dakota鈥檚 system. According to Burgum, 鈥淭his group represents a wide range of backgrounds and expertise that will ensure a thoughtful assessment of our nearly 80-year-old governance structure and whether the higher education system is operating at its full potential to prepare students for success in a world undergoing rapid technological disruption.鈥[3]
North Dakota鈥檚 higher education employees, students, and parents may be wary of this proclaimed diversity and expertise, however. The task force has limited experience in higher education.聽 Only three of the task force鈥檚 fifteen representatives work in higher ed, and only one of these three, Dr. Paul Markel of Minot State University, is a professor. The task force does include a university student, Katie Mastel, a marketing major and student body president at North Dakota State University in Fargo. By and large, the task force鈥檚 other members are state business and political leaders.聽While North Dakota’s higher education must, of course, be responsive to multiple state interests, including our students鈥 potential employers and state politicians, it is strange that a task force dedicated to higher education review should be comprised of so few higher education employees, let alone educators.
North Dakota鈥檚 higher education community can鈥檛 be surprised by the fact that Burgum, the former president of Great Plains Software (now part of Microsoft鈥檚 Business Solutions Group), is particularly interested in the ways ND鈥檚 higher education can become more 鈥渘imble and responsive to what I call demand signals.鈥[4] As the task force continues its work, we can expect to see a focus on universities and colleges that meet the governor鈥檚 ideals in these areas.聽 An April 6 article in the Grand Forks Herald noted that Burgum is intrigued by the business model Arizona State University President Michael Crow has created, which is heavily dependent on grants, public/private partnerships, and on-line courses. Sixty-five percent of ASU鈥檚 budget came from the state when President Crow took office, Burgum said; 鈥淭oday, they receive 9 percent.鈥[5] Furthermore, Burgum stated, “They didn’t do it by being better salesmen to the state 鈥 they did it by listening to the demand signals from the market.”
Without a doubt, Arizona State offers programs that are worthy of the task force鈥檚 review.聽 Educators in North Dakota might be more impressed by the governor’s intentions, however, if he focused on the university鈥檚 innovative educational programs and not just the university鈥檚 budget and market responsiveness.聽 ASU should be lauded for its highly successful STRETCH program approach to first-year composition, for example, which has included outreach to central Arizona鈥檚 Native American communities.
Of course, not everyone in the state is on board with the governor鈥檚 proposed cuts. Burgum鈥檚 language suggests a vision of higher education that emphasizes potential employers rather than students;聽 as such, his perspective seems to clash with educators who see their jobs as student- and/or learning-centered.
Some objections to the governor鈥檚 proposed cuts have been raised by members of the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) itself.聽 On April 26, Dave Kolpack of the Associated Press reported the concerns of two SBHE members, Mike Ness of Hazen and Casey Ryan of Grand Forks.聽 According to Ness, the former superintendent of the Hazen Public School District,
“This time it’s really going to dig deep 鈥β It’s going to take a lot of personnel out and it’s going to take major programs out of our system. I don’t think we as a board should just accept that like we did last legislative session and say, ‘Well that’s OK, we’ll live within our means.'”[6]
Although these objections seem to suggest the possibility of real debate on the proposed cuts, the chair of the North Dakota SBHE, Don Morton, is likely to follow the governor鈥檚 lead. Morton, like Burgum, is a former Microsoft Business Solutions executive who shares the governor鈥檚 business-oriented, market-driven perspective toward higher ed.聽 Furthermore, since the SBHE鈥檚 membership, like the governor鈥檚 higher education task force, is slanted toward business and industry rather than education, Ness鈥檚 and Ryan鈥檚 objections may well be disregarded. Ness鈥檚 SBHE term is up on June 30.
North Dakota United, which represents the state鈥檚 employees, including K-12 and higher ed, has also spoken out against the proposed cuts. On April 19, NDU President Nick Archuleta announced that 鈥淣orth Dakota United has already been invited by the Governor鈥檚 office to come in to speak about our concerns, and to make suggestions on how we can continue to recruit and retain excellent public employees.鈥澛 Archuleta asks NDU education members to 鈥渟tay engaged and vigilant, and let鈥檚 do all we can to help steer our state back in the right direction.鈥[7]