Running Head: ALABAMA HIGHER EDUCAITON 1

Higher Education Governance in Alabama A Narrative

Amanda S. Gilliland
EDLD 8433: Higher Education Governance












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To begin examining the Higher Education system of Alabama it is key to examine
the voters of the state first. Alabama voters carry significant influence on the states
education from primary education to higher education. The voters choose legislators, the
judicial representatives, and governor, all of whom are responsible for determining
funding for education. Legislators make decisions on funding for education in the state.
The Alabama Department of Finance manages the State Education Trust Fund, which is
the largest operating fund of the state (budget.alabama.gov, Education Trust Fund Brief
Description). In the fiscal year 2014, the state of Alabama allocated 6.4 million dollars to
higher education and over 7 million dollars for all education across the state
(budget.alabama.gov, 2014 Appropriations). Revenues in this fund are intended to
maintain education across the state including programs, capital improvements, and debt.
Voters also have impact by selecting the individuals that sit on the board of the Alabama
State Board of Education (www.cacc.edu, para.1). This is where a true narrative on
higher education governance in the state of Alabama must begin.
The president of the Board of Education is the Governor of Alabama. Their
influence can be great on education in the state, however, how much should they exert
power over decisions for education? In 2012, Pew Charitable Trust published an article
discussing how governors of many states should manage education in their states. One
matter discussed was that the governor, as in Alabama, sits on boards and has many
meetings to attend just for education. They interview former Alabama Governor Bob
Riley who mentioned that it was difficult to attend every meeting and a proxy would have
to be used in some situations. As far as how involved a governor should be, Riley stated
he avoided asserting his authority unless there was a serious problem (Pew, How
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Governors Govern Higher Ed, When to Step in). When everyday decisions were being
made, Riley adds that he would offer an opinion but would not force a decision one way
or another. He shares an important insight when working with the decision makers in his
state in Pews article: If you ever take that authority away from the board of trustees,
he says, then you basically take away their ability to have any control over the
operation (Pew, How Governors Govern Higher Ed, When to Step in).
In addition to the governor of the state, there are eight representatives that sit on
the Board of Education (www.accs.cc, State Board of Education) elected from each
congressional district by the people of Alabama (www.cacc.edu, para.1). Not only are
they responsible for overseeing the Department of Educations K-12 public education in
the state, they are also tasked with being the board of trustees for the Alabama
Community College System which includes adult education, workforce training,
technical schools, and community colleges within the state. (www.accs.cc, State Board of
Education).
This creates a complex system as the Board of Education oversees all education in
the state, yet they answer to a coordinating board called the Alabama Commission on
Higher Education (ACHE) that coordinates educational matters and advises legislators
about those matters. The ACHE, made up of 12 board members from across the state,
coordinates K-12 planning, approves academic programs, units and construction for
education in the state, reviews existing programs and makes appropriate
recommendations to the educational institution, coordinates higher education institutional
planning in effort to meet statewide plans, is a reporting agency for legislature in matters
of budgetary planning for the system of education as well as recommendations for
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educational policy, and lastly they manage unit record system of student, staff, and
faculty data in order to manage the system and ensure efficient use of resources
(www.ache.alabama.gov, ACHE responsibilities). All higher education institutions in
Alabama are coordinated by and follow policies and practices implemented by the
ACHE. They consider themselves to be partners to education in the state
(www.ache.alabama.gov, ACHE Partnerships).
An important service provided to the students of Alabama institutions that the
ACHE administers is statewide student financial aid programs. This includes Student
Assistance programs, Grant funding programs, and Doctoral Scholarship programs
(www.ache.alabama.gov, Student Assistance). The ACHE website provides a
comprehensive list of the kinds of aid they offer, who can apply, and how to apply. The
site is thorough in covering each step the students must take in order to receive funding
including grants and scholarships (www.ache.alabama.gov, Student Assistance).
Reporting to the ACHE is a diverse and large list of community and technical
colleges as well as four-year institutions. The Alabama Community College System
includes 25 institutions and serves over 300,000 students across the many different types
of programs in the state (www.accs.cc). There are 16 public four-year universities serving
over 200,000 students in the State of Alabama (www.ache.alabama.gov, About Us).
A key issue in Alabama that pushes remediation in the ACCS is literacy. The
Board of Education has a literacy action plan focused on improving high school
graduates literacy skills. In 2009, ACHE provided research showing that 37% of
graduates were in remedial education in order to improve literacy. This is one area where
the ACCS provides a service to the students of Alabama beyond a degree. Adult
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education, specifically, is a key component not to be overlooked when reviewing the role
of the ACCS.
The Carnegie Foundation has classified 5 institutions as research institutions and
many others large masters institutions (Look up Listings). The public universities provide
a wide variety of specialties and environments to accommodate the many unique students
that attend them. Funding is an important factor in helping to grow and diversify
institutions. In 1996, Senate Joint Resolution 32 created the Higher Education Funding
Advisory Commission whose task was to develop a new funding approach for institutions
in the state. This resulted in an implementation of a performance and incentive based
funding for the universities pushing them to achieve in order to receive a larger share of
the funding for Higher Education (Stanford).
The unique arrangement of the governance over education in Alabama through
the coordinating board combined with an incentive based funding model encourages a
collaboration across the state among universities in order to meet the vast program needs
for their students without oversaturating the state with programs and providing a diverse
choice of institutional infrastructure. Alabama must continue to improve utilizing the
processes of the ACHE and their oversight in order to keep growing their system.
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References
ACHE Partnerships. Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Retrieved from:
from: http://www.ache.alabama.gov/Content/Brochures/Agcy-Brochure.pdf
ACHE Responsibilities. Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Retrieved
from: http://www.ache.alabama.gov/Content/Brochures/Agcy-Brochure.pdf
ACHE Student Assistance. Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Retrieved
from: http://www.ache.alabama.gov/Content/Departments/StudentAsst/
StudentAsst.aspx
External Influence. (2013, March). Central Alabama Community College. Retrieved
from: http://www.cacc.edu/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=sacs_3.2.4_external_
influence&category=SACS
Fiscal year 2014 appropriations. (2014, June 30). State of Alabama Education Trust
Fund. Retrieved from: http://budget.alabama.gov/pdf/etf/ETF2014.pdf
Institution lookup. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Retrieved
from: http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/lookup_listings/institution.php
Morton, J. (2011, March). Alabamas action plan for literacy: Birth through grade 12.
Alabama State Board of Education. Retrieved from:
http://web.alsde.edu/general/STATE_LITERACY_PLAN.pdf
State Assessment Policy Analysis, National Center for Post Secondary Improvement.
Stanford University. Retrieved from: http://web.stanford.edu/group/ncpi/
unspecified/assessment_states/stateReports.html#AL
State Board of Education. Alabama Community College System. Retrieved from:
https://www.accs.cc/index.cfm/state-board-of-education/
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State education trust fund brief description. Alabama Department of Finance. Retrieved
from: http://budget.alabama.gov/pages/etfdesc.aspx
Wieder, B. (2012, August 31). How governors govern higher ed. Stateline, Retrieved
from: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2012
/08/31/how-governors-govern-higher-ed