Biggest needs laid out for UNC

Many more grads wanted in state

CHAPEL HILL -- The need for highly educated, skilled workers is much greater than the state's higher education system can produce, according to a report Thursday to the group setting a future course for the UNC system.

The UNC Tomorrow Commission heard a flurry of daunting statistics Thursday about the state's economic and demographic changes:

* By 2014, North Carolina will need 400,000 new workers with at least a bachelor's degree.

* The state's public and private colleges are expected to produce only 254,000 of these workers.

* Colleges would have to produce 15,000 more graduates each year to fill the gap.

"The sheer volume of that left me breathless," said Hannah Gage, a UNC Board of Governors member on the commission.

Starting next month, the group will embark on a tour of the state, with 11 regional meetings around North Carolina.

The purpose: listening to business leaders, community leaders and residents about what the state needs from its higher education system.

The idea, said UNC Board of Governors Chairman Jim Phillips, is for state universities to become more attuned to the demands of the state's rapidly changing economy.

"In order to be demand-driven, we've got to listen to our customers," he said.

Reaching a broader slice of the population is part of the challenge. The UNC system now has 200,000 students, with one-third from just four counties: Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford and Forsyth.

Educating Latinos

One issue on the table is educating the growing Latino population -- including illegal immigrants. That will no doubt be a controversial political issue. An effort by some legislators to rewrite laws to give in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants in 2005 failed after an explosive debate.

To exclude a portion of the Hispanic population from the university is criminal, said Priscilla Taylor, a member of the UNC board and the commission.

"Amen," responded Martin Lancaster, president of the community college system and member of the panel. "We can't refuse to educate a single person."

Jim Woodward, former chancellor of UNC-Charlotte, said the issue goes beyond politics.

"It's an economic imperative that we attract and serve these kids," Woodward said.

In the past 15 years, the state's Hispanic population has increased by 600 percent compared with 20 percent growth in the white and African-American population, according to the report to the commission.

Reaching out in new ways to minority groups and male students must be a part of the approach, the commission said. African-American males represent 14 percent of public school enrollment in North Carolina but only 9 percent of full-time college students.

Campuses should also become more diverse, panel members said. Historically black universities are overwhelmingly African-American, while some of the other campuses are 95 percent white. Seventy-eight percent of faculty members across the UNC system are white.

Universities in depressed regions must play a greater role in transforming the economy and bringing new jobs, Lancaster said.

"In Greensboro, the community is going to demand that from the university," Lancaster said. "In northeastern North Carolina, it may have to be the other way around."

Gearing up for growth

The UNC system is expected to expand by 80,000 students by 2017. That growth likely will be achieved in part beyond the traditional methods -- through online programs, collaborations with community colleges, satellite sites and programs shared among more than one campus.

Getting more students enrolled is one thing. Making sure they have the right skills for the 21st-century economy is another challenge.

Commission members said there must be better preparation in math, science and technology, but at the same time, employers have said the work force is sorely lacking in the so-called "soft skills" of writing and critical thinking.

"If you train an engineer who can't write, then we have someone who's not going to be effective in the workplace," said commission member Peaches Blank, a UNC board member.

New demands could also change the culture of universities, already under a huge transformation because of the retirement of baby boomer professors, who make up 60 percent of the faculty.

One idea under consideration is to devise ways of rewarding faculty who come out of the classroom to work directly in communities on problems facing North Carolina. That could shake up the traditional system of tenure, some commission members said, which would no doubt be a touchy issue.

The 28-member commission -- made up of education, business, nonprofit and community leaders -- will complete a report by the end of this year. Then, the university will come up with a response plan next spring.

UNC President Erskine Bowles said the group's work could mean significant changes for the university. "I want to promise you your hard work will not sit on the shelf," Bowles said.