Recent reports indicate that Florida University System Chancellor Frank Brogan may prove to be an ally for Scott, who has publicly stated that he is looking to Texas as a model for education reforms. While Brogan says that Scott isn’t completely tied to the Texas plan, according to the News Service of Florida, he does say the governor is “wed to … the notion that we need to look at those and other possibilities that might create a better system of higher education in the state of Florida.” #

The seven “Breakthrough Solutions”  for higher education, written by Austin, Texas, oilman Jeff Sandefer and promoted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, have guided the conversation around higher ed reform in the Lone Star State since Gov. Rick Perry debuted them at a 2008 summit for university leaders. #

The “Solutions” aim to cut costs and increase class sizes at Texas universities. And they haven’t been met kindly. The “Solutions” seem more like problems to critics — who say they could downgrade the quality of higher education in the state. #

The “Solutions” drew notoriety after being instituted in Texas A&M, particularly because of the so-called “black and red scale,” which analyzes each professor, as well as his or her income and expense. If, for example, you only teach small classes and get a large salary, you are in the red. On the other hand, if you teach a large class and draw a small salary, you are in the black. #

In an interview with American Public Media’s Marketplace, the Public Policy Foundation’s David Guenthner defended his group’s push for larger classes, arguing that fewer professors means lower tuition costs. “If more professors taught more students, the university would need fewer teachers,” he said. “That would save millions of dollars that could offset tuition.” #

Another of Perry’s notable efforts is the push to enact a $10,000 four-year degree, a bargain by most standards. Proponents of the plan say $2,500-a-year tuition will lead to more accessability in education, while critics say state universities will lose their esteem. The Wall Street Journal’s “SmartMoney Magazine” just recently ranked a degree from the University of Texas at Austin as the second-best (in terms of yielding a high salary) in the country — a title that could become tarnished as a result of Perry’s reforms. #

Many former (and current) UT students are highly critical of the reforms. #

“We think it’s going to degrade the education, [make it] harder to recruit good students, good professors [and] the national ratings are going to drop. That’s not what we want,” says Gordon Appleman, a UT alum and prominent Fort Worth attorney. “We want to be one of the best universities in the country. You don’t get there by doing what they want to do.” #

Also on the list of potential reforms? Less research. #

Solution No. 3 reads: “Split research and teaching budgets to encourage excellence in both,” which Appleman argues places too low a value on important research. ”[It] essentially says that some research is valuable and some isn’t. … If it isn’t, the professors can be let go,” says Appleman. #

In a January letter (.pdf) to the about-to-be-inaugurated Rick Scott that was recently unearthed, former Gov. Jeb Bush offered some advice concerning higher education. “Eliminate funding for Institutes at Universities,” he wrote. “My guess is that there are over 150 million in recurring revenue for hundreds of Institutes that have no accountability and are not part of the direct mission of higher ed. Phase them out in your budget and make them justify their existence by securing private funding to exist.” #

The idea of less research in the higher education system has been controversial in Texas. In February, the UT Board of Regents hired Rick O’Donnell, a former senior research fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation who once wrote a paper titled “Is Academic Research a Good Investment for Texas?” His conclusion, that much academic research lacks value and that some tenured faculty members could be replaced with lower-cost instructors, sparked generous amounts of controversy. As of April, he was “no longer employed by the UT system.” (O’Donnell, by the way, was initially given a $200,000 annual salary.) #

Under Solution No. 4, tenure should be more difficult for professors to obtain — an insult, says Appleman. #

“I’m not saying that there aren’t teachers in the world taking advantage of tenure,” he says. “But the ones that I know — it’s an insult to paint them that way. The people wake up in the morning thinking about students, and they go to bed thinking the same thing.” #

Another issue, says Appleman, is faculty performance review, in which compensation is based on professor ratings, which he calls “student popularity contests.” ”There’s a strong sense that those that are popular, or give out high grades, will fare better than another teacher that might be more effective in the long run,” he says. #

Appleman feels so strongly about the reforms that he was compelled to pen a letter to fellow UT alums, administrators and faculty expressing his concern that the Perry changes could post a risk ”of serious, long-term, perhaps irreversible degradation in academic stature.” But fighting tooth-and-nail against the reforms could prove difficult. As Appleman puts it, the Texas Public Policy Foundation is not only very persistent, but “they have a lot of money, too.” #

A conservative think tank funded in 1989 in Austin, the Foundation is a nonprofit funded by large grants and individual donations. The Foundation has, in the past, received thousands in donations from both Exxon Mobil and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation (which has recently been embroiled in its own higher ed controversy in Florida.) #

There are other options, but they might not be as popular with Perry. As reported by our sister site, The Texas Independent, Texas University Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa last week laid out a broad nine-point plan (.pdf) to streamline operations across the system, increase accountability and expand science and medical education. #

In a press release, the Texas Coalition for Higher Education praised Cigarroa’s plan to implement the “Framework for Advancing Excellence,” calling it a “thoughtful and comprehensive plan” that “provides an exemplary blueprint for the future of higher education in Texas.” Cigarroa’s plan marked the most comprehensive reform alternative proposed by a university leader since Perry’s debut of the “Breakthrough Solutions.” #

The Texas Public Policy Foundation maintains that its proposed changes will make college more sensible to more students, who will face less debt after leaving college. Calls made to the Foundation were not been returned. #

Should Scott implement similar changes to Florida’s higher education system, top schools like the University of Florida could ramp up enrollment, but lose their stellar reputation in the process. Case in point: Arizona State University, where higher enrollment now means lower graduation rates and less rigorous admittance standards. The acceptance rate at the school is an astounding 90.5 percent. ASU is a model of sorts for the Texas reforms. #

After visiting ASU with the Board of Regents, UT Student Government President Natalie Butler wrote a letter cautioning the regents on using the school as a model for Texas. #

“Officials at ASU made it clear that ASU wanted to be an institution defined by its high degree of inclusiveness and ability to manufacture a significant number of degrees at a low cost,” wrote Butler. “U-T Austin, rather, is defined by its academic rigor, excellence and support for the intellectually curious who are looking to answer the world’s questions.” #

Though any Florida proposals for higher ed reform are mere talk at this point, it is important to note that the use of a business model for a university — where high numbers of college students are turned over at a low cost — might not be far-fetched for millionaire businessman Rick Scott, whose governance has led some to label the state “Florida, Inc.” #

Earlier this year, Scott signed a bill that would abolish tenure for new grade-school teachers and pay them based mostly on their students’ academic performance, a somewhat similar idea to some of the Texas higher ed reforms. The American Federation of Teachers, a national teachers’ union, said the bill “took a wrecking ball to the dreams and aspirations” of Florida’s public school students. Scott, however, maintained that it “would be very good for teachers,” remarking, ”We are absolutely changing this country.” #

From Politico:

Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, tells POLITICO that the school is reconsidering its widely mocked plans not to give President Barack Obama an honorary degree when he speaks at commencement on May 13 and will “honor him in every way possible.”

“There was no intended slight,” Crow said by telephone from his office in Tempe. “We had not yet talked about what honors we might give him as our commencement speaker, and we still have a month to work all that out. We don’t want anyone to think we do not recognize what he has achieved and what he means in America.”

A formal decision has not been made, but it was clear from Crow’s comments that the university is headed in that direction. ASU risked becoming a national punch line if it did not quickly retreat from its policy against conferring honorary degrees on a sitting politician.

Past recipients of ASU honorary degrees included an aloe-vera magnate, the director of “Victor Victoria,” a Chinese official, a Canadian politician, and lots of donors and fundraisers.

Update: Sam Stein reports that ASU, now apparently in full damage-control mode, announced Saturday that it will rename and expand its “most important scholarship program” in honor of President Obama.

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ASU Media Relations Director Sharon Keeler says, unlike other universities, the processes for selecting commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients are independent. She says that honorary degrees are given “for an achievement of eminence” and that Obama was not considered for an honorary degree because his body of achievements, at this time, does not fit within that criteria.

I don’t think it really needs to be said, as Teo writes, that getting elected president of the United States — and the first African-American president, at that — seems like quite a substantial achievement.

Really, ASU? Is this really your best P.R. move?

After all, as the Phoenix-area’s East Valley Tribune editorialized:

Barry Goldwater received his honorary degree in May 1961, three years before his Republican nomination for president and only eight years into his three decades as a U.S. senator. Sandra Day O’Connor was similarly recognized just three years in her 25 years on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Do you forget that in 2005, you were Playboy’s No. 1 party school in the country? Granted, you’ve dropped to No. 17 in 2008, according to the Princeton Review — but does that mean you are now above giving an honorary degree to the president?

And I don’t know if you remember, but Arizona had a bit of an image problem just two decades ago, for refusing to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. After that whole kerfuffle, is this the message The Grand Canyon State wishes to send to the rest of the country — that Obama’s election is an achievement unworthy of recognition?

Update: Sam Stein does some digging and finds that Obama might be a better candidate for an honorary degree if he donated $50 million to ASU.

2nd Update: Stein has more. An ASU official suggests the university might give Obama an honorary degree after he leaves office.

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