Tuition will increase at the state’s three institutions of higher education by 4 percent next year to help pay for a state budget for higher education that is rising by 7.3 percent to $331 million, if the budget is approved by the General Assembly.
The bulk of the $18.8 million increase is for personnel costs, including $4.1 million for faculty wage increases, $3.5 million in staff wages, and $3 million to cover fringe benefits, including health care. Student aid will increase by $1.3 million.
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The budget covers the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island.
At the state’s elementary and secondary schools, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Peter McWalters said there has been progress in a system that is often maligned.
McWalters, in his annual report to the General Assembly said reform efforts of the past four years are resulting in improvements, and cited increased reading, improved math scores at the elementary and middle school levels and rising SAT scores as successes for the Ocean State’s education system.
“In the past four years, we have moved ahead of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maine and New York in terms of SAT performance,” he said. “URI confirms that the average SAT score of Rhode Island students has increased significantly, and the number of Centennial scholars coming from Rhode Island has increased as well.”
Such improvements are the result of not just state, but national demands for better accountability for the public’s investment in education, McWalters said.
To increase Rhode Island’s academic successes, McWalters suggested an improved climate in the state’s schools, support for teachers and recognition for high achievement.
“That’s the goal we’ve set, the standard we have pledged to meet,” he said. “It is easy to stand before television cameras and embrace a slogan. It is much harder to enact policies and make budget decisions that will slowly, sometimes painfully, deliver our schools and kids to high achievement.”
How Rhode Island Schools Compare, an annual report released on June 25 by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC), found that:
- Rhode Island’s average teacher salary increased 30.5 percent from 1989-90 to 1999-00 compared to the U.S. average increase of 30.0 percent. The state’s ranking changed little over this period, dropping from seventh ($36,057 in 1989-90) to eighth highest ($47,041 in 1999-00) among the 50 states. Rhode Island’s average teacher salary in 1999-00 was second highest among all New England states;
- The Ocean State’s estimated expenditures per student in fall enrollment ($7,990) grew by 22.5 percent during this same 10-year period, compared to an average increase nationwide of 35.5 percent. Rhode Island’s expenditures per student in fall enrollment was 20.6 percent higher than the national average ($6,627).
Earlier this year, under fire for low performance rates, it was suggested that both the Alternate Learning Project (ALP) and the Feinstein High School for Community Service be closed and a new alternative high school be created in their place, to be located in the Feinstein High School building.
The controversial proposal was the subject of weeks of public debate, resulting in a revised proposal, which won approval from the school board in March. The new proposal suggested the formation of a task force, to be composed at least partially of outside consultants, to further evaluate the performance of ALP and make recommendations about what should be done with the school.
The proposal also calls for the restructuring of Feinstein to incorporate a new curriculum when it reopens this fall.
In other education news:
- Brown University and Trinity Repertory Company announced the formation of a consortium
to offer new master’s and doctoral programs in theater arts. In addition to its existing Master of Arts in theater studies and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in playwriting, Brown University will begin granting an M.F.A. in acting and directing and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in theater and performance
studies. The first M.F.A. class will matriculate in September 2002 and receive
its degrees in May 2005. The Ph.D. program will be based on the Brown campus. - Ruth J. Simmons, whose appointment as the 18th president of Brown University was
announced in November, will officially begin serving as Brown’s 18th president
this week.
Simmons, who was president of Smith College in Northampton, Mass., from 1995 until
her appointment at Brown, will be the first African American to lead an Ivy League
institution. Simmons will be inaugurated on October 14.
