New House committee to
review declining college
enrollment and economy
By SARA ANSPACH
Predictions of declining enrollments
and slackening economic conditions
have prompted state legislators to
begin long-range planning for changes
that might be needed in the state's
higher education system.
The state House Committee on
Colleges and Universities has created a
joint House-Senate subcommittee to
review existing studies on declining
enrollment and economic forecasts and
to make recommendations to the
state's public colleges.
REP. JEFF DONGVILLO (D-Scotts-
ville) and Sen. Jack Faxon (D-Detroit)
will co-chair the subcommittee, which
still is "in the beginning stages," ac-
cording to House Democratic Research
member Jan Lyddon.
The Senate Education Committee has
been meeting with administrators from
Michigan's public four-year institutions
during the last several months to
discuss state appropriations, Lyddon
said. She said the legislators noticed
disagreement on forecasts of
enrollment declines during the
discussions, and a "considerable
amount of ear about the implications of
all kinds of economic conditions"
among college administrators.
The subcommittee was formed to
examine these conflicting reports and
advise universities, according to Lyd-
don.
"WE'RE NOT INTO a dire situation,
but we like to be forward-looking,"
Lyddon said. She added that Michigan
has "one of the best" higher
educational systems and the legislaure
is interested in preserving the quality of
education the state currently boasts.
But, she continued, "We've got to
recognize there are going to be
changes."
"State budgets are getting tighter
and tighter. Schools costs are in-
creasing rapidly," she said. As federal,
state, and local resources become scar-
ce, schools won't be able to contine the
"growth spurt" that started in the early
1960s with the influx of the post-war
baby boom children, Lyddon explained.
The subcommittee expects to finish
its review by the end of December, she
added.
UNIVERSITY Vice-President for
Academic Affairs Harold Shapiro said
the University hasn't made any special
predictions for enrollment statistics.
According to Shapiro, a university can
either "sit back and see what happens,
or it can pursue an aggressive recruit-
ment program and maintain
enrollment in the face of a nation-wide
(enrollment) decline." The University
has chosen the latter course, he said,
and will be stepping up recruitment ef-
forts in the next decade.
Other schools, according to Lyddon,
are beginning to recruit non-traditional
students, such as older students and
those who come from educationally
disadvantaged backgrounds, to fill the
enrollment gap.
In addition to predictions of fewer
students and economic troubles, there
are other factors which may bring
about some changes in state colleges
and universities, she noted. The three
largest colleges in the state, Wayne
State University, Michigan State
University, and this University, have or
soon will have new presidents, and the
State Board of Education will be
looking for another president in the
near future, she said.
Early bird Daily Photo by JIM KRUZ
This little fellow is waiting patiently in the display window of Goodyear's
Department Store on S. Main St. He's sweating out the summer, anticipating
the first Wolverine football game with Northwestern University in Michigan
Stadium Sept. 8.
*:******************** *
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Gimme an A
Gimme an l... L ...Y *
Givb the MICHIGAN DAILY
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