New Mexico First Releases Education Town Hall Report

ALBUQUERQUE NM, MAY 18, 2006 – The State of New Mexico must create a clear vision and strategic plan for education to meet the needs of employers for a more capable workforce and of students for more rewarding careers.

This is the basic theme of the final report released today from the statewide Town Hall that was convened by New Mexico First April 20-22 in Santa Fe to address higher education.

The report [PDF] contains 18 recommendations for improving higher education and is now available on the New Mexico First website.

Barbara Brazil, New Mexico First president , said the report represents the culmination of a year-long project to “identify and address an issue of high importance to New Mexico Citizens and develop recommendations that can be acted on by policy leaders.”

The Town Hall involved nearly 200 participants from throughout the state, including presenters, discussion leaders, recorders, students, parents, business representatives, educators, school administrators and subject-matter experts.

In a statement following the Town Hall, Dr. Beverlee McClure, Cabinet Secretary of Higher Education, said, “We have already begun to weave the recommendations into our statewide strategic priorities.”

She said that her department was, “rejuvenated by so many people willing to dedicate two and one-half days to discussing the issues facing higher education, and more important to help us craft solutions.”

Brazil said, “The recommendations are the work product of a diverse group of citizens from throughout the state who made sincere efforts to understand our education and workforce challenges and reach consensus on broad approaches for improving education.

“And, we believe the report contains thoughtful and reasonable recommendations for energizing our educational infrastructure to rise to levels of excellence citizens expect and deserve,” she added.

With a state strategic plan for education, the Town Hall participants envision well-defined paths for students to prepare them for the workforce from their early schooling through secondary school and beyond under a unified P-20 (preschool through graduate school) system.

To reform higher education, the report recommends a statewide system of governance, as well as coordinated efforts to eliminate duplication among government and community organizations.

Regarding funding, the report recommends changes to the higher education formula to hold schools more accountable for student success.

The recommendations also call for an analysis of barriers and contributors to student success that leads to strategies for preparing students for lifelong learning; alignment of high school exit requirements and performance standards with college, vocational school and university entrance requirements, and higher academic standards to enhance the value of degrees, diplomas and certificates.

To facilitate enrollment and completion of higher education, the Town Hall recommends needs-based financial assistance for students attending public and not-for-profit institutions, as well as uniform criteria for transferring course credits that meet competency standards among public institutions.

Also recommended are alliances between P-20 institutions and the business community to help ensure graduates meet workforce needs, as well as analysis of expected high-value jobs to help students follow career paths that are aligned with the needs of employers.

The Town Hall also calls for a vigorous campaign to encourage students to pursue and complete degrees, whether they are certificates for immediate job entry or advanced degrees.

New Mexico First has convened more than 40 Town Halls since it was co-founded by Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman in 1986 to engage citizens in shaping broad policy issues.

The forum uses a background report, presentations by policy leaders and experts, and a series of work sessions to examine an issue and develop consensus recommendations among the participants for actions that can be taken by policy leaders.

The recommendations are forwarded to an Implementation Team that develops a strategy for presenting them to civic leaders who can incorporate them into plans and actions. The Implementation Team for this Town Hall is co-chaired by former Governor Garrey Carruthers, currently Dean of the College of Business at NMSU, and Michael DeWitte, a senior manager at Sandia National Labs and chairman of the New Mexico Business Roundtable.

“As a result of recommendations made by numerous sources, in addition to statewide research conducted by the University of New Mexico, higher education and its relationship to workforce development surfaced as a high-priority issue for us to convene a Town Hall around,” Brazil said.

“The bottom line coming out of the research and the Town Hall is that the full potential for the vast educational infrastructure that has been built in New Mexico is simply not being realized,” she added.

Brazil said that the overriding consensus of the Town Hall is that the needs of the state for a more capable workforce, and the needs of students for more rewarding careers, could be better met, “if the public education and higher education institutions worked together under a common plan for greatly improving student completion of education, as well as expanding the breadth and quality of education to better prepare students for employment.”

New Mexico First is a nonprofit organization led by a statewide board of directors made up of business and civic leaders. It was co-founded in 1986 by Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman.

During the past year, it has convened Town Halls on the effects and potential of federal spending in the state, as well as watershed and forest management, the City of Albuquerque’s energy future, City of Gallup planning, the organization and structure of the Albuquerque Public School District, and mathematics and science education.