TESTING TIMES: UNC CAMPUSES PRESS TO ATTRACT MORE RURAL AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS--AND SUPPORT THEM TO THE FINISH LINE.

AuthorMildenberg, David

It seems that everyone has been getting graded at the 17 UNC System campuses--except the chancellors who run the show. "There's always been a lot of trust, and the universities have pretty much said, 'We'll spend the money. Now leave us alone,'" says Margaret Spellings, the system president since 2016. "There have been lengthy strategic plans covering everything but the kitchen sink, and you wouldn't disagree with anything in them. But they aren't as focused as we need them to be."

Now, system leaders are raising the bar for campus accomplishments rather than relying on what Spellings calls "random acts of kindness." The chancellors have signed customized performance agreements that reflect specific improvement goals developed after input from faculty, staff, campus trustee boards and the UNC System. At UNC Charlotte, where Chancellor Philip Dubois has led dramatic growth during 13 years at the helm, the five-year plan calls for graduating 30% more low-income students, growing research funding by 44% and increasing the number of students graduating within five years by about 6 percentage points, to 65%. Appalachian State University has already surpassed its goal for increased enrollment of rural students by 7% and is ahead of the plan in boosting graduations of low-income and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students, Chancellor Sheri Everts says.

At Winston-Salem State, a historically black university formed in 1892 to teach the progeny of former slaves, Chancellor Elwood Robinson is challenged to boost five-year graduation rates by 7 percentage points to 52% and graduate 24% more low-income students. "These are things we think we can easily achieve," says Robinson, a Sampson County native who has led the university since 2015. "These metrics are trying to make sure we can educate all of our students."

Numbers never tell the whole story, adds Robinson, who was the first college graduate in his family. The average family income of Winston-Salem State students is less than $60,000, he notes. That means an unexpected $100 expense can cause a promising student to drop out of school, he says. "We've always reminded the Board of Governors that there is a context to these metrics. First-generation, low-income students come in with a different perspective on higher education than those whose families have gone to college for generations. It's up to us to give them resources they need to succeed."

The focus on numbers...

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