MASTERSON ONLINE: In new territory

I’m flat bewildered after reading that our universities are steadily encroaching on responsibilities long borne by the state’s 22 public community colleges.

It’s similar to the feeling after I read about the government using our tax monies to purchase a $600 hammer that cost $40 at a hardware store.

I’ll try to explain what’s troubling me here (and should you as a taxpaying citizen.)

Increasingly, the four-year universities have been allowed to edge their way into both training and education historically served by our community colleges.

One example is how the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has reached into the realm of associate of applied science degrees via the rationale of a nursing shortage.

While it’s not unusual for universities to offer associate’s degrees, I find myself wondering if there a proven need to even head in that direction.

A review of Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board meetings also shows universities expressing more interest in providing work-force training at all levels. As I recall, this also falls in the traditional bailiwick of community colleges.

For example Arkansas State University at Jonesboro was approved to offer a certificate of proficiency, a technical certificate and an associate of applied science in the paramedic field at the meeting in July 2016.

Why are universities now actively creeping into this new territory? Are the four-year institutions truly better at providing the training than the community colleges? Not really, considering nursing programs (and all other technical programs for that matter) are reviewed and accredited by state or national agencies. Nursing programs at any school must be accredited by the Arkansas Board of Nursing if graduates hope to be licensed.

It’s my understanding that every publicly funded community college in Arkansas is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission—which also reviews and accredits the universities. So how can quality be an issue?

Does a university perhaps offer a better financial bargain for the student than a community college? That being the case, taxpayers would certainly get more bang for their higher education buck. But that argument doesn’t hold water either.

I read that tuition and fees at UALR will run $9,430 a year for residents, while up the road at Pulaski Tech the cost is $5,011. So, hmmmm, does logic say we could train nearly twice as many nurses by investing in the community colleges rather than the universities? Might that be rightfully called efficiency in the public interest?

So many related questions swirling in my tiny brain.

For instance, I’m wondering if the state’s new funding formula for higher education will reward universities for delivering associate’s degrees and work-force training at twice the cost it reimburses community colleges.

Will the universities also be rewarded for offering remedial education, which costs taxpayers twice as much as community colleges? In simpler terms, will taxpayers be expected to shell out $600 for the proverbial hammer that could be purchased down the street for much less?

And why would our relatively poor state choose to willingly pay twice as much for remedial training, certificates, associate’s degrees and work-force training when it’s not necessary? Not wise or prudent, is it?

I understand enrollment trends over the past several years show universities are growing while community colleges are falling back. How odd, considering community colleges cost so much less and are widely considered more student-friendly because of their manageable size and intimate regional atmospheres.

Could the reason for these growing discrepancies possibly be that a large part of higher education costs is borne by Arkansas taxpayers? That could translate to the argument that our state can choose to offer a product from a large luxury store at a high cost or buy the same item from a mom-and-pop in the neighborhood for half the price.

Common sense might tell us if “it” costs more then surely “it” must be better. That’s likely the way things are done in portions of the government where personal expenses are irrelevant. Perhaps the best for our idea for our politicized rulemakers is to allow universities to do what they do best in offering undergraduate and graduate educations and support the community colleges in their unique contributions.

Otherwise, what’s next? Community colleges offering master’s degrees? How about a return to common sense, rather than blending academic need with politics to generate far greater expenses for those of us trying our best to eke by?