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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Sometimes, you can predict the weather by looking at the clouds building out on the horizon. You can’t change it, but you can prepare: grab an umbrella, head indoors, change your picnic plans.

It’s fair to say that this summer, I’m watching the higher education horizon and seeing some interesting cloud formations building.

These clouds really started forming this past academic year. Whether the media groundswell around MOOCs, the ongoing debate about the value of a college degree, the endless stories about student debt, or the endless calls to reinvent all or part of higher education, it is quite clear that something is shifting—quickly—in the academy. This summer, these clouds have gotten bigger and the winds driving them have picked up speed. We are still without any deal to stop the doubling of student loan interest rates on July 1. Congress has sent clear messages that it intends to use the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act as an opportunity to exert greater authority over colleges and universities and require greater levels of reporting and compliance.

We may not be able to quell the winds of reinvention—and, in some cases, we may not want to—but we do need to be prepared. Part of being prepared is working together, which is why early this summer, the President and Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate met with my leadership team and me to discuss how to strengthen shared governance at MCC. One outcome of this meeting was an unexpected discovery: MCC has no formal policy on shared governance. So, this fall, we will start on convening a larger group that’s also representative of students and civil service to work on drafting such a policy for college review. A shared governance policy is key to setting the “terms of engagement” on essential college issues, so getting this foundational document in place is important. My thanks go out to the Faculty Senate for their interest in working on this effort.

All of this is to say that interesting developments are ahead for all of us in higher education, whether students, faculty, staff or administrators. What do you predict might be ahead in higher education policies at the federal or state level? What would you suggest MCC do to prepare? Share your thoughts on the blog.

Anne M. Kress
President's Office
06/26/2013