Making the Case for a Strong Public Research University : The University of

Kentucky Top-20 Business Plan

Alan J. DeYoung,

University of Kentucky

Drivers of Change and Choice: What Can We Learn About Competitiveness By Comparing U.S. and EU Education at the University Level. Warsaw,

Poland, June 18-19, 2010.

University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky

THEMES AND APPROACHES

• University Snapshot and Politics of KY Higher Education

• Top 20 Universities and the Social Context

• President as CEO • Business Plan and

Strategic Plan

• Logic Behind the Top-20 Initiative

• Strategies for Engaging the Public and Private Sectors

• Conceptual and Practical Challenges

“Snapshot” of the University of Kentucky

• Location: Lexington, Ky. Type: 4 year, Public Year Founded: 1865 Tuition and Fees (Fall 2008): In-State: $7,736; Out-of-State: $15,884 Total enrollment (Fall 2006): 26,382 Undergraduate enrollment: 19,292 Undergraduate applicants (Fall 2006): 10,024 Percentage admitted: 80.5% Graduation rate: 59% 16 colleges, a graduate school

Almost 100 undergraduate and 100 master’s programs 70 doctoral and professional programs.

• Sports Nickname: Wildcats Official Web site: Uky.edu

• Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, US News and World Report, College Board • http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_kentucky/index.html?inline=nyt-org

UK as Kentucky’s Land-Grant University

• The University of Kentucky is a public, co-educational land-grant university and is the largest in the Commonwealth.  Designated as the state’s “Flagship” research university.

• Land-grant colleges/universities are institutions of higher education designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 and the Hatch Act of 1887.

• Their mission: To focus on the teaching of agriculture, science and engineering as a response to the industrial revolution and changing social class rather than higher education's historic core of classical studies. Mission expanded by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 to include cooperative extension — the sending of agents into rural areas to help bring the results of agricultural research to citizens.

• Each land-grant university still receives annual Federal appropriations for research and extension work on the condition that those funds are matched by state funds.

Political Context of the Top 20 Plan in Kentucky

• Kentucky House Bill 1 (1997): UK to become a major comprehensive research institution ranked nationally among the top 20 public universities.

• Passage of HB 1 forms a “Top 20 Compact” with the university

• University agrees to relinquish control over the state’s community college system.

• The Plan proposed/mandated/ promised to facilitate UK’s thrust to become a Top 20 public research university by 2020.

Top 20 Universities and Social Contexts

States with Top 20 Universities have:

• Higher median incomes• Higher educational attainment• Lower poverty rates• Fewer citizens on Medicaid

President Lee Todd’s Agenda • Connecting research and job

creation• raising the academic

performance and national standing of the university as the best way to improve the state’s economy

• reducing the scourge of what he calls “the Kentucky uglies” — high rates of diabetes, lung cancer, illiteracy and poverty.

Credibility: President Lee Todd Jr.: CEO

• … Dr. Todd grew up in a small coal-mining and farming town in western Kentucky, graduated from the university and earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at MIT. He returned to his Kentucky alma mater to teach before leaving to spend 18 years creating two successful high-tech companies, in a state better known for thoroughbreds and bourbon than for digital innovations.

• “What the state needs is a more educated work force,” Dr. Todd told members of the Scott County Chamber of Commerce during an address at a luncheon recently in nearby Georgetown. “We’re going to have to have more graduates in our economy if we want it to grow.”

Developing Strategic and Business Plans

• “Few ideas are bigger than the one that Dr. Todd, 61, began promoting when he became president in 2001: getting Kentucky into the top 20 among public research universities by 2020.” (New York Times Series on UK)

• “It took 18 months to develop a plan, with the aid of consultants, to enhance the academic reputation …

• The first step … to devise their own system for rating state universities. It involves measuring indicators like graduation rates; the academic quality of entering students; the number of Ph.D.’s being produced; the scholarly citations and awards amassed by the faculty members; and the dollar value of federal research grants awarded to faculty members.

• Then, they designated benchmarks by which the university’s progress could be measured over the years.”

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/education/01face.html?_r=1&ref=education

Business Plan vs. Strategic Plan

• The Business Plan is a long-term financial document. It quantifies how much Top 20 status will cost and the return on investment (ex., more degrees and research productivity).

• The 2006-09 Strategic Plan defines specific measures of quality, establishes strategic goals for excellence, and directs the allocation of resources across campus.

• http://www.uky.edu/OPBPA/business_plan.htm

• The Business Plan is a long-term financial document. It quantifies how much Top 20 status will cost and the return on investment (ex., more degrees and research productivity).

• The 2006-09 Strategic Plan defines specific measures of quality, establishes strategic goals for excellence, and directs the allocation of resources across campus.

• http://www.uky.edu/OPBPA/business_plan.htm

• Top 20 Work Group– VP for Planning, Budget, and Policy; VP

for Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness; Policy Director; Planning Director

• Top 20 Steering Committee– Deans, administrators– Faculty, staff, and student leaders

• The Stillwater Group (External Consultants)

Business Plan Working Groups

Business Plan Considerations

• How do we define ‘Top 20’ status?

• Where does UK rank now?

• Where will the 20th institution be in 2020?

• What is the gap?

• What resources will it take to fill the gap?

• How do we define ‘Top 20’ status?

• Where does UK rank now?

• Where will the 20th institution be in 2020?

• What is the gap?

• What resources will it take to fill the gap?

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2

3

4

5

Making national comparisons

DOMAINS MEASURES OF PROGRESS

COMPOSITE SCORECOMPOSITE SCORE

Growth Targets for 2020

2004 2020 Change

Undergraduates 18,492 24,692 6,200

Graduates, First Professional 7,252 8,002 750

Postdoctoral Appointments 295 670 375

Total 26,039 33,364 7,325

Faculty 1,920 2,545 625

Research Expenditures $298 M $768 M $470 M

Bachelor's Degrees Granted 3,285 6,350 3,065

Doctorates Granted 276 465 189

Early Results: UK’s Rank Among 88 Institutions, 1997-2007

Since 1997, UK moved from40th to 35th

UK

• UK will provide 40 percent of the needed investments

• Annual Giving• Research Recovery• Hospital and Clinical Services• Internal Reallocation

• The remaining 60 percent of the needed investments should come from the state and students

Business Plan Summary

Selling the Plan

• The Dream Tour– Occurred prior to

completion of Top 20 Plan– 22-city, 1,600 mile trek

across Kentucky– “Our Campus Is the

Commonwealth”

Selling to Different Audiences

• Campus buy-in– Board of Trustees, University and Staff Senates,

faculty breakfasts, open forums

• Statewide support • Media

– Local and national coverage

• Government – Met individually with Governor, over 100

legislators

Top 20 Business Plan Implementation

University of KentuckyStrategic Plan

2006-2009

Top 20 Business Plan Implementation

University of KentuckyStrategic Plan

2006-2009

Implementing the Business Plan

•Steering Committee chaired by Provost•Four Domain Subcommittees:

–Undergraduate Education–Graduate/Professional Education–Faculty Development–Research

•Engagement Subcommittee•Staff Development Subcommittee

University Committee on Academic Planning and Priorities (UCAPP)

•Advise President’s Cabinet:–Identifying academic priorities –Revising university-wide strategic plan–Recommending criteria and principles for resource allocations–Monitoring success in achieving intended outcomes

UCAPP Charge Highlights

2006-09 Strategic Plan: Alignment with the Top 20 Business Plan

•Five Major Goals

•Enrollment Plan

•Campus Master Plan

•Market Analysis

•Workforce Planning

Strategic Plan 2009-2014

• Goal 1: Prepare Students for Leading Roles in an Innovation-driven Economy and Global Society

• Goal 2: Promote Research and Creative Work to Increase the Intellectual, Social, and Economic Capital of Kentucky and the World beyond Its Borders

• Goal 3: Develop the Human and Physical Resources of the University to Achieve the Institution's Top 20 Goals

• Goal 4: Promote Diversity and Inclusion• Goal 5: Improve the Quality of Life of Kentuckians through

Engagement, Outreach, and Service

Source: http://www.uky.edu/Provost/strategic_planning/plan.htm

WWW Top 20 Sources

• Kentucky Top 20 Business Plan Executive summary: http://www.uky.edu/OPBPA/Top20/executive_summary_v7a.pdf.

• Strategic Plan 2009-2014: http://www.uky.edu/Provost/strategic_planning/plan.htm

Issues in Achieving Top 20 Status

• Hard to Get to the Top when Everyone Else is Also Striving to get there.

• The Problem with Correlations

• Economics of Higher Education in a Recession