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Delivering the Promises
I want now to speak about Delivering the Promises. There are two great promises to be fulfilled by four deliverers. The first promise is crisply stated in two of the most remarkable pieces of legislation in the history of higher education. In 1988, when the University System was founded, the State of Maryland designated the University of Maryland its flagship campus and mandated in law that it be ranked among the top public flagship universities in the country. Then in 1999 the Larson legislation that followed the review of the University System reaffirmed the State's expectation that the flagship be ranked among the nation's best public flagships and went even further by stipulating that the achievement of the top-tier ranking by the flagship is the State's number one priority in higher education. These are remarkable recognitions of the importance of the flagship to the future of the State and a public policy position that is singular in the nation. It is time to put forward a plan to achieve this ppromise.
The second promise is our campus's unwavering commitment to ensure that students possessed of great talent, but low to moderate financial means, are financially able to attend this flagship University. We will find some way for every highly talented Maryland student to graduate from the University of Maryland, if she or he is determined to do so.
To fulfill these two Promises simultaneously requires a multi-year partnership between four Deliverers. These Deliverers include: (1) our campus community, (2) the State, (3) the University System and Regents, and (4) our alumni and friends. All have key roles to play and only by working together can they together deliver the promises. Neither promise can be delivered by any one partner alone. It's a partnership, and an entrepreneurial and innovative one at that.
The campus is primarily responsible for delivering quality programs. Our record of ever climbing rankings, and so many other indicators of achievement, prove that we can deliver the mandated quality. But to achieve that quality standard requires support of the other deliverers in spirit, backing and financial support.
The financial backing required to achieve the Promise is more complex. The campus cannot fund the Promises alone. In reality no single partner alone can provide the financial backing to deliver the Promises. Hence, the partnership is needed to deliver a great university with affordable access. You should know that the Regents and System have made delivering these promises their priority. Also there is an indication that the State will partner with us. Our alumni and friends have shown willingness to do their part through supports of financial aid, academic programs and other initiatives. And they are doing so. The campus must do its part by: raising revenues through entrepreneurial initiatives, expanding summer and winter term offerings, controlling costs, using partnerships, and simply being innovative in everything we do. Students will also share the financial burden through tuitions and fees. A four-year model and financial plan for campus support, tuition, State General Fund allocation and fund-raising for scholarships, academic support and other initiatives will be submitted to the Regents later this Fall. That plan will frame the Delivering the Promises Initiative.
The campus has already undertaken a number of steps in support of delivering these promises. Let me comment on a few of them.
The President's Promise guarantees that every freshman entering this fall and thereafter will have the opportunity to engage in a special, extracurricular learning experience that complements the degree program. Last year this was available to only two-thirds of our freshmen.
The Scholarship Campaign to raise at least $200 million kicked off last fall with the Hot, Hot, Hot major fund raising event in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. You may be interested to know that last year the campus spent over $180 million in support of scholarships and jobs for students. (This amount is equivalent to 60% of our State General Fund appropriation.) The University employs more than 5,000 undergraduates. Graduate student fellowships and employment account for $64 million. Over the last three years, need-based aid has increased by 30%.
The Maryland Pathways program we initiated a year ago reduces debt at graduation for low-income students. Pathways I provides a debt-free graduation opportunity for poverty level students, and Pathways II provides a debt-cap equivalent to one year's cost of education for students whose "gross family income" is less than $65 thousand dollars. We plan to expand this opportunity by increasing the income limit according to our capacity to fund the debt-cap guarantee.
The Maryland Transfer Advantage Program will guarantee transfer admission to the University of Maryland for Montgomery College freshman students meeting specified criteria. The program will be first instituted for high school graduates in Spring 2006 and we hope it can be expanded to other institutions after we gain some first hand experience.
The Freshman Connection Program increases access to the University through Spring admission and at the same time provides counseling and opportunities for those students admitted to accelerate their programs.
The Baltimore Incentive Awards Program, for students from nine Baltimore City public high schools who have overcome great disadvantage in their circumstances, will be expanded to a Prince George's County Incentive Awards Program, and possibly elsewhere this year
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