UNC-system BOG discusses community college partnership financial policy

The UNC-system Board of Governors convened Thursday for its monthly meeting.

Following a policy discussion on partnerships between the UNC system and N.C. Community College System the board committees met. Below are the highlights from the day.

Partnering with community colleges:

N.C. Community College System President Scott Ralls had his first formal meeting with the full board Thursday.

Both systems are making it a priority to improve collaboration between institutions" and UNC-system President Erskine Bowles pledged to fight for the community college system as much as for his own.

The following are Ralls' top priorities:

- Focus training on emerging and ""recession-proof"" industries such as aerospace and aviation" health care and technology;

- Focus on college completion especially among low-income students;

- Simplify educational transitions among high schools community colleges and universities by streamlining standards between high schools and community colleges and expanding transfer programs;

- Pay community college instructors at the national average;

- Improve communication between university and community college faculty.

Report on medical graduates:

Dr. Thomas Bacon program director of the Area Health Centers Education program gave a presentation to the Committee on Educational Planning Policies and Programs on the need for more graduates from N.C. medical schools to pursue primary care.

- Only 10.9 of UNC-Chapel Hill's primary care physicians are in rural areas.

- Only 30 percent of 2001 medical graduates from UNC-Chapel Hill were practicing in North Carolina as of 2006.

- Bacon said schools should create tracks for under-served rural or primary care physicians.

Accountability as a priority:

The audit committee discussed an update on the Finance Transformation Project which aims to standardize the policies and processes of accountability and internal auditing at all system campuses.

They also decided to attempt to amend the 2009-11 budget priorities to make accountability the No. 4 priority instead of No. 10.

- The project will work mostly with financial aid and general accounting departments because they are most at risk for misappropriations.

- New standards developed for contracts and grants are being tested.

- The new policies will be required of campuses by April 2009 and the first reports from campuses will be due July 2009.

 

Senior Writers Lindsey Naylor and Brendan Brown contributed reporting.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.