State should eliminate duplications in academia

PBN Staff

10/04/2008

To the Editor:
Thank you for a very interesting and insightful interview with Nancy Carriuolo, president of Rhode Island College. (“Maintaining RIC’s character a priority amidst cuts,” the Sept. 15 Newsmaker.) I enjoyed it and gained a bit more understanding of the problems that beset Rhode Island higher education institutions.

While I praise the interview, however, I think you and the president overlooked what I have come to believe is a major issue.
Yes, I agree that a merger with dissimilar institutions would be bad for both. It’s the kind of thing legislators consider when they don’t understand the mission of the institutions.
What I don’t agree with is the constant competition between and among Rhode Island state higher education entities for students in similar programs. For instance, why should the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College both have extensive teaching / education degree programs? Why should they both grant degrees in music education, for example, when there are not enough students in either school to completely staff their ensembles? Why should they compete for students through a bidding war of scholarship money?
These kind of duplications are wasteful and not the best use of taxpayer money. As Ms. Carriuolo suggested, RIC is looking to become more entrepreneurial in order to survive. Part of that entrepreneurial activity must be to lead an effort among institutions to prune waste and duplicity. For a state the size of a medium-sized city anywhere else, we just can’t afford to spread ourselves so thin.

PBN Branded Content