Montana Regents seek ways to measure higher-ed quality

The Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to create a committee charged with figuring out how to measure quality at the state’s colleges and universities.

By RON TSCHIDA, Chronicle Staff Writer

That somewhat nebulous task is tied to a more material substance: money.

Regent John Mercer of Polson, who has been urging establishment of "quality benchmarks," said that as universities struggle for adequate funding, people naturally want to know what they’re getting for their dollar.

"We have to define what makes a quality education and what that costs," Mercer said. "We need state support. … We have to sell people on what it is that we have."

Montana State University president Geoff Gamble agreed with Mercer on the importance of measuring quality. He said MSU has been working vigorously to assess how it’s doing.

However, Gamble added, quality measures are not as easy to come up with as are assessments built around numbers, such as graduation rates.

George Dennison, president of the University of Montana predicted that quality, defined one way or another, will soon be tied to federal funding.

Congress is considering reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and new provisions will likely be added that link funding to performance measures, he said.

Money will be "tied to what you do and how well you do it," Dennison said.

Regent Chairman Ed Jasmin cautioned that it’s important to keep in mind national rankings, such as those done by the magazine US News and World Report. Those rankings have their own limitations, but prospective students and their parents certainly look at them, he said.

"Somehow in this whole process we have to be cognizant of the market place," Jasmin said.

Officials from several campuses had submitted written comments on the qualit- measures proposal in advance of the meeting.

Mercer said some of the responses were "elitist" and said they illustrated a cultural divide between academia and the rest of the state.

"The culture of higher education needs to change in how it relates to the people in the rest of Montana," he said.

Mercer first suggested the committee, which he said must include not just education insiders but residents from outside the academic community, could be appointed without further regent review.

But regent Lynn Morrison-Hamilton objected, apparently worried the committee might be stacked unfairly.

"The politicization of this board has become more and more apparent," Hamilton said.

Mercer then amended his proposal, and regents directed Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns to form the committee and bring the proposed membership list back to them.

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2003/11/21/news/regentsbzbigs.txt