The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) reviewed its policy, budget, and goals for all three public universities at a meeting in Flagstaff at Northern Arizona University’s campus.
According to The State Press, Eileen Klein, the ABOR president, discussed several areas where the board has improved and highlighted elements where progress and advancements are needed.
“While we are able to deliver college grads… we all know that there’s going to be an intense demand for those workers in the future,” Klein said. “It is of the utmost importance for the three major public universities to prepare students for life after college.”
She noted that maintaining a low debt level for all students is key to ensuring they have a successful career post-graduation. Of all young Americans ages 18 to 24, nearly one-fifth qualify themselves as being in “debt hardship.”
“We want to make sure that student debt is not an overwhelming concern,” said Klein. “Many of our students do not have debt at all, and those that do have debt, it is far below national average.”
Another concern at the meeting was Arizona universities being unnoticed on the national level, despite their successful achievements.
ABOR’s annual report will be released to the public in the next few months as an interactive web page and will showcase Arizona State University’s national success. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked ASU as the number one university in the college for innovation.
“Sometimes there’s not an appreciation for the quality of these institutions,” said Greg Patterson, ABOR Vice Chair. “I think this is a really good way to really make sure we get that message out.”
ABOR approved all the proposed budgets and granted ASU an additional $7 million to finance whatever the university would like.
AZ Central reports that the ABOR will also begin a search for a new president at the University of Arizona, as current president, Ann Weaver Hart, will not seek a contract extension when it expires in two years.
“After some time for strategic review,” said Jay Heiler, Chairman of the ABOR, “we expect to devise and begin a search for her successor sometime in the fall.”