Senate Universities and Colleges Committee set to hold two days of hearings

• Topics of discussion are expected to focus on state spending, graduation rates and preparing college students to meet the state’s workforce needs.

The state Senate Universities and Colleges Committee is set to meet this week for two days of hearing as lawmakers seek to ensure Mississippi’s institutions of higher learning are operating at peak efficiency. 

On Wednesday, the committee will receive updates from State Treasurer David McRae (R) on the state’s college savings program, along with updated information from LeAnne Robinson, the director of the Legislative Budget Office.

State Senator Nicole Boyd (R), chair of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee, expects to hear good things from McRae concerning the college savings program. 

“We’re pleased to see the financial health of the college savings program and the opportunities that this gives people that invest in this program to know that this is a solid performing program,” Boyd said. 

Committee members are also scheduled to hear from Jay Allen with the Education Achievement Council. Senator Boyd said this council has been a collaboration between the Legislature, community college leaders, the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), the K-12 education sphere and the workforce community to ensure education is functionally benefitting the state’s workforce.

“This council has functioned for a number of years, but it’s time that this council grows and adds to the work that it needs to do to ensure there’s complete synergy from the earliest learner in pre-K to the Ph.D. student at a university,” Boyd explained. “We are looking at a restructuring of the council and how that council provides information, not only to policymakers but also the different education institutions and the workforce leaders in the state.”

Dr. Nathan Oakley, the Senior Policy Director of College and Career Pathways for ExcelinEd, will give the committee a look into higher education and how some states are funding their schools using a performance-based budgeting system. 

“We’re looking at over 30 states in the country that have now gone to some aspect of performance-based budgeting,” Boyd explained. “We have to be efficient with the dollars that the taxpayers are spending at our universities and colleges and we no longer can fund failure. And in many instances in this state that is what we are doing. So, the Legislature is looking into performance-based funding to ensure performance is being driven and ensure students receive the best benefit and therefore provide better return on investment in the workforce.”

The committee will learn about Tennessee’s higher education funding formula from Dr. Steven Gentile, the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

The Commissioner of Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning, Dr. Alfred Rankins will also provide an update about the status of the agency during Wednesday’s meeting. Senator Boyd expects graduation rates at the state’s public institutions to be discussed. 

“A number of us have great concerns about some of the graduation rates that we’re seeing at our universities and colleges and while some universities and colleges have made tremendous increases and strides in this, we see others are lagging behind,” Boyd explained. “And so, we’ve got to have a greater accountability for those dollars.”

On Thursday, the committee will hear from Kell Smith, Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board. Senator Boyd expects the discussion to center on how the state’s community colleges can make the best use of tax dollars while also ensuring they are meeting the workforce needs. 

“We are not a wealthy state, and we’ve got to make sure that our dollars are being used efficiently. And one of the things that we have to make sure of is that our colleges and universities are providing the education for the workforce that is in Mississippi,” said Boyd. 

The potential implementation of financial literacy at community colleges will also be a topic of discussion.

Senator Boyd said Mississippi’s current standing as having one of the highest college debt percentages in the nation makes this a topic that needs to be addressed by lawmakers. In response, efforts are underway to provide all community college students with a financial literacy course. That will include all students, from those seeking trade certificates to those who plan to transfer to a four-year university.

Jean Massey of the Mississippi Economic Council and Courtney Taylor, Executive Director of Accelerate MS, will be part of that discussion.

In addition, the Senate committee will hear a presentation from Jennifer Rogers, IHL’s Director of State Student Financial Aid about a program called “Reconnect.” The program is geared to those who may have some college experience but for whatever reason did not receive a certificate or degree.

Senator Boyd said Mississippi has a large percentage of people who completed some of their secondary education but did not finish and are now in the workforce. The current plan is to implement pilot programs at a number of community colleges across the state to aid in their completion.

“Tennessee has run the Reconnect program for a number of years. We’ve been looking at programs for the last two years across the country and this is the program that…they would recommend that gives them the most bang for their buck,” Boyd described. “So, it would up-skill these individuals that are out in the workforce.”

The committee will also hear the results of the Gordian Report on the IHL building from Associate Commissioner for Real Estate Brad Rowland as well as consider a presentation from Apryll Washington, Deputy Director of Student Financial Aid, about the implications of defaulting on student loans.