[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
REVIVING OUR ECONOMY:
SUPPORTING A 21ST CENTURY
WORKFORCE
=======================================================================
FIELD HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD IN Mesa, AZ, MARCH 20, 2014
__________
Serial No. 113-53
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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
JOHN KLINE, Minnesota, Chairman
Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin George Miller, California,
Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, Senior Democratic Member
California Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
Joe Wilson, South Carolina Virginia
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Ruben Hinojosa, Texas
Tom Price, Georgia Carolyn McCarthy, New York
Kenny Marchant, Texas John F. Tierney, Massachusetts
Duncan Hunter, California Rush Holt, New Jersey
David P. Roe, Tennessee Susan A. Davis, California
Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Tim Walberg, Michigan Timothy H. Bishop, New York
Matt Salmon, Arizona David Loebsack, Iowa
Brett Guthrie, Kentucky Joe Courtney, Connecticut
Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio
Todd Rokita, Indiana Jared Polis, Colorado
Larry Bucshon, Indiana Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,
Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Northern Mariana Islands
Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Frederica S. Wilson, Florida
Joseph J. Heck, Nevada Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon
Susan W. Brooks, Indiana Mark Pocan, Wisconsin
Richard Hudson, North Carolina
Luke Messer, Indiana
Juliane Sullivan, Staff Director
Jody Calemine, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on March 20, 2014................................... 1
Statement of Members:
Kline, Hon. John, Chairman, Committee on Education and the
Workforce.................................................. 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 6
Statement of Witnesses:
Barton, Cathleen, Education Manager, Intel Corporate Affairs,
Southwestern United States, Intel Corporation, Chandler,
Arizona.................................................... 15
Prepared statement of.................................... 17
Crow, Michael, Ph.D., President, Arizona State University,
Tempe, Arizona............................................. 76
Prepared statement of.................................... 79
Farley, Christy, Vice President, Government Affairs and
Business Partnerships, Northern Arizona University,
Phoenix, Arizona........................................... 153
Prepared statement of.................................... 155
Hart, Ann, Weaver, Ph.D., President, The University of
Arizona, Tucson, Arizona................................... 140
Prepared statement of.................................... 142
Heumann, Rick, Vice Mayor, City of Chandler, Chandler,
Arizona.................................................... 7
Prepared statement of.................................... 10
Lambert, Lee, D., Chancellor, Pima Community College, Tucson,
Arizona.................................................... 31
Prepared statement of.................................... 33
Lara, Ernest, A., P.h.D., President, Estrella Mountain
Community College, Avondale, Arizona....................... 149
Prepared statement of.................................... 151
Pepicello, William, Ph.D, President, University of Phoenix,
Tempe, Arizona............................................. 56
Prepared statement of.................................... 58
Additional Submissions:
Mr. Lambert: Meeting Tomorrow's Workforce Demands Today...... 167
Reviving Our Economy: Supporting a
21st Century Workforce
----------
Thursday, March 20, 2014
House of Representatives
Committee on Education and the Workforce
Washington, D.C.
----------
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:00 a.m., at the
Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus, 7001 East
Williams Field Road, Student Union, Cooley Ballroom B, Mesa,
Arizona, John Kline [chairman of the committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Kline, Salmon, Rokita, and
Grijalva.
Staff Present: Janelle Belland, Coalitions and Member
Services Coordinator; Alex Sollberger, Communications Director;
Brian Melnyk, Professional Staff Member; Jenny Prescott,
Legislative Assistant; and Rich Williams, Minority Education
Policy Advisor.
Chairman Kline. A quorum being present, the committee will
come to order. Good morning, and it is a delightful morning.
Speaking as a Minnesotan, I can tell you that I am thrilled,
absolutely thrilled to be here. Welcome to our guests, and
thank you to our witnesses for joining us today. I would also
like to thank Arizona State University for hosting our field
hearing to discuss ways states, institutions, and the federal
government can better support the 21st century workforce.
This committee has convened numerous hearings in Washington
to examine the challenges and opportunities facing the nation's
classrooms and work places. Whenever possible, we like to bring
the voices of everyday Americans to the Capitol to learn their
ideas on how to move our country. But it is even better when we
have the opportunity to get out of Washington and into local
communities, which is why we are in Phoenix today.
My friend and colleague, Matt Salmon, invited the committee
to Arizona's 5th District to talk to area business leaders,
education stakeholders, and state officials to learn how people
are working together to prepare graduates in the Grand Canyon
State for success in the workforce.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce last
year advanced legislation we called the Skills Act to revamp
the nation's network of job training programs, empower
employers, and help put more Americans back to work. The
committee is now working to improve career and technical
education, or CTE, by reauthorizing the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act. We are also exploring
opportunities to strengthen our higher education system through
the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
One of our top priorities in both these endeavors is
supporting innovation, whether by encouraging CTE schools to
adopt technology that mirrors the tools used in the local
workforce or by championing policies that help students earn a
postsecondary degree in less time with less debt. In fact, Matt
Salmon has introduced legislation known as the Advancing
Competency Education Project of 2013 that lets colleges offer
federal financial aid based on students' prior experience and
knowledge instead of credit hours, allowing students to advance
in a degree program faster without accumulating as much debt.
Once again, I would like to thank our witnesses for joining
us today, and we look forward to a productive discussion. I
will now yield to Mr. Salmon for his opening remarks.
Mr. Salmon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, and
welcome to this important hearing to discuss ways our education
and our business communities can collaborate to encourage
economic growth. I do not care where you go in America, when
you ask people what is on their minds, it is get more jobs
going in this country.
I want to thank Chairman Kline for his leadership and for
making the trip all the way here to Arizona to do this hearing
today. I hope I delivered on my promise of fabulous weather.
Chairman Kline. You did.
Mr. Salmon. Particularly given the snow we have been
traipsing through in D.C. and a little bit of snow in your home
state of Minnesota. I want to thank Todd Rokita from Indiana
for making the trip and my dear colleague from Arizona, Raul
Grijalva, for attending this hearing, as well.
Here in Arizona, we not only enjoy fantastic winter
weather, but also great traditions of educational opportunities
and pro-growth business environment. In fact, today we will
hear from some of our great educational institutions on the
innovative ways that they are working to deliver education to
our students, and as well how they are working to connect with
local businesses to fill the pipeline for tomorrow's workforce.
Arizona has a rich history. We need only look to the great
seal to the State of Arizona to find where our economy was at
the beginning of our statehood. The five Cs include cattle,
cotton, copper, citrus, and climate. These Cs are still
important to our economy, including copper, which accounts for
two-thirds of the entire nation's output. However, Arizona
continues to evolve and thrive. Our education and our business
communities have further developed Arizona into the diverse
economy it is today with healthcare, transportation, and
innovative industries being core drivers of employment through
the state.
Today we are going to hear from the City of Chandler on the
state of the local economy, as well as how the educational
community ties into local business there. Chandler is extremely
well known for its high tech industry, which makes up 75
percent of the manufacturing employees, while the national
average is just 15 percent. Every city in the nation is host to
unique workforce industries, so it is important to connect with
local businesses to ensure that we are meeting the needs of
employers. We can then better prepare students with the skills
that they need to enter the workforce today and be equipped to
adapt to the trends of the future.
We are also going to hear from Intel, one of the world's
largest high tech semiconductor chip manufacturers. Intel has
numerous inventions that most of us on a daily basis, including
the processors found in most personal computers, use. They have
had a large Arizona presence since 1979. They have almost
12,000 employees in Arizona alone, and it is the largest
employer in Chandler. They continue to grow with the expansion
of their 300 million research and development site. Without
employers like Intel, our high tech industry in Arizona would
not be anywhere near where it is today.
I am also looking forward to testimony from the University
of Phoenix, who has worked for years to make higher education
more accessible and recently won accolades as a top 10 online
MBA program. Phoenix actively engages the business community
through their Industry Strategy Group as well as their
Workforce Solutions Department, including engaging businesses
such as Microsoft and Cisco Systems.
One of the largest community college networks in the nation
is here with us today, and that is the Maricopa Community
Colleges with their Estrella Mountain campus, also with us is
the Pima Community Colleges. Our community colleges have been
such an important part of higher education in this state. They
work closely with our high schools and our dual enrollment
programs as well as with our universities for seamless
transition towards degrees. Of interesting note, I met my wife
at the community college, and we are still married, so it
worked out pretty good.
Another important aspect is their work with community
businesses with career and technical education tracks. Chandler
Gilbert Community College, just next door to this campus, works
in tandem with local authorities and law enforcement, fire
safety, aviation, nursing, and other in-demand career fields to
prepare their students.
We are also extremely fortunate today to have
representatives from our three esteemed public universities:
Christy Farley, a dear friend and somebody who has advised me
on education policy for a lot of years, from Northern Arizona
University out of Flagstaff. Dr. Ann Hart--we are just thrilled
to have her. She has been a breath of fresh air to come and run
the University of Arizona. And of course from my alma mater,
Dr. Michael Crow from Arizona State University out of Tempe. Go
Sun Devils.
I would like to thank ASU for opening their doors for this
committee field hearing here at the polytechnic campus, which
encompasses high-tech research and education, including the
renowned Algae Laboratory. ASU is one of largest, if not the
largest, university in the nation, and is redefining higher
education through the new American model. One of ASU's student-
business partnerships is with Intel, and they worked together
to develop a customized engineering degree for some of the chip
makers, Arizona-based employees.
The U of A is the state's finest university--excuse me--
first university. Michael, I did not mean to give you a heart
attack.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Salmon. That was just a reading error. The University
of Arizona is the state's first university, operates the
state's only public medical school, and is the largest research
institution in our state. They also connect with businesses
such as Raytheon to work toward inspiring the next generation
of innovators. And I might add that they were Obama's pick in
the final four, and so they are probably going to be in the
final four. And as an ASU grad, I am really proud of them, too.
Northern Arizona University State has connected with the
business community through its business outreach boards locally
as well as nationally.
All of the institutions here today provide an excellent
educational environment for students and continue to be
pioneers in higher education. All work to think outside the box
with new concepts, interdisciplinary collaborations, and
academic programs that educate our students, provide important
research, and help U.S. industry prosper. So it should come as
no surprise to anyone in this room that the cost of education
is on the minds of virtually everybody in America: families,
parents, students. And in an effort to address this challenge,
I recently introduced bipartisan legislation to start a pilot
project for higher education institutions to pursue the
competency-based education model, something NAU offers through
personalized learning.
My bill, H.R. 3136, The Advancing Competency-Based
Education Project of 2013, allows institutions to tailor
instruction to students' unique needs and learning pace.
Students will progress when they have mastered the requisite
knowledge and skills necessary for a course rather than just
time spent in a classroom. This controlled demonstration
program could reduce costs and provide opportunities for
students to earn their degree on time or early in some cases.
Perhaps most importantly, this bill would allow certainty and
accessibility for a broad array of higher education
institutions to provide this 21st century learning environment.
The goal for the vast majority of students entering
postsecondary education is to obtain the skills necessary to be
competitive in the job market with the critical thinking skills
to adapt with an ever-changing workforce.
I look forward to hearing from the experts in these fields
today on how we can work together towards this goal. I want to
thank our first panel of witnesses: Rick Huemann from the City
of Chandler, Dr. Pepicello from the University of Phoenix. Is
it Pepicello?
Mr. Pepicello. Pepicello.
Mr. Salmon. Okay. Pepicello from the University of Phoenix,
Cathleen Barton from Intel, and Lee Lambert from Pima Community
College who appear on the first panel. Thank you very much. And
Dr. Michael Crow, Christy Farley from Northern Arizona
University, and Dr. Ernest Lara from Estrella Mountain
Community College for the second panel, and Dr. Ann Hart.
We look forward to this discussion on ways we can
collaborate among the education and business communities in
providing a gateway to 21st century jobs. And I look forward to
a productive hearing. I will bet you all thought I was trying
to filibuster, but I wasn't.
Chairman Kline. I thank the gentleman. I now recognize Mr.
Grijalva from Arizona for his opening comments.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you for
holding this field hearing, a very important topic and I'm very
appreciative of the hearing here in Arizona. I know you had to
endure leaving Minnesota to be with us, and we appreciate the
sacrifice.
To my good friend, Mr. Salmon, thank you for initiating the
idea. I very much appreciate it. We are glad that the community
college has provided you with an enriched life of bliss. And
the Freudian slip about U of A is welcomed as well.
I used to be a big much bigger booster of the U of A and
then redistricting happened. So I have like 20 percent of
Maricopa in my district, so I am working towards something I
think we all struggle with: bipartisanship and trying to be as
representative of all sides.
Thank you to the witnesses, to the public universities and
their leadership for being here. It is very much appreciated.
For the private for-profit college, Phoenix, for being here. I
appreciate it. The community colleges, which I think is an
important addition in terms of the numbers of students that
find that to be the most accessible and affordable place to
start. And to both of the leaders from Estrella and Pima, thank
you very much.
The private sector, how that collaboration and how we are
going to streamline to ensure we are reviving our economy and
the workforce that's needed for that revival is in tech areas.
And to the elected leadership, thank you as well, sir, I think
that perspective in the overall community health and
satisfaction levels that we need in our communities, your
testimony will be very helpful.
We are talking about a lot of things, but I think one of
the areas I hope to talk about is adult education and what it
means to try to bring remediation and assistance, whether it's
for English language learners, GEDs, adult-based education, to
give people the foundation in order for them to take the next
step to prepare themselves for a new expanded and different
workforce that is evolving. Accountability. I am sure that is
an issue that is important, whether it is a discussion of the
gainful employment rule or whether it is a discussion of what
public institutions feel in terms flexibility and oversight
from the federal government.
And collaboration, and as we reauthorize the Perkins Act,
the collaboration that we can use with the Perkins Act as an
incubator on how we have that collaboration to enact
legislation and initiatives and funding for the private sector
and public institutions and workforce institutions, collaborate
and some incubators to look at that private/public partnership
that everybody talks about that maybe needs a little more
``shall'' rather than ``may'' in legislation.
I also want to talk a little bit about as we go forward
that there is a reviving of our economy that depends a great
deal on who we as a nation and we as a Congress invest in the
growth of this community of ours, and central to this is
workforce development. Central to this is the public
institutions that will educate that workforce.
And so this is a timely hearing, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate
the opportunity to be here, and I yield back.
Chairman Kline. I thank the gentleman. Pursuant to
committee Rule 7(c), all committee members will be permitted to
submit written statements to be included in the permanent
hearing record.
Without objection, the hearing record will remain open for
14 days to allow statements, questions for the record, and
other extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be
submitted in the official hearing record.
[The information follows:]
[The statement of Chairman Kline follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. John Kline, Chairman, Committee on Education
and the Workforce
Good morning. Welcome to our guests, and thank you to our witnesses
for joining us today. I'd also like to thank Arizona State University
for hosting our field hearing to discuss ways states, institutions, and
the federal government can better support a 21st century workforce.
This committee has convened numerous hearings in Washington to
examine the challenges and opportunities facing the nation's classrooms
and workplaces. Whenever possible, we like to bring the voices of
everyday Americans to the Capitol to learn their ideas on how to move
our country forward. But it's even better when we have the opportunity
to get out of Washington and into local communities, which is why we
are in Phoenix today.
My friend and colleague Matt Salmon invited the committee to
Arizona's 5th District to talk
to area business leaders, education stakeholders, and state
officials and learn how people are working together to prepare
graduates in the Grand Canyon State for success in the workforce.
Arizona's economy continues to show signs of improvement. The
unemployment rate has declined over the last year, and in January the
state created 8,300 new jobs. To continue this trend, it is critical
more young people in Arizona have access to the training, education,
and hands-on experience necessary to meet the needs of the local
workforce and compete for in-demand jobs.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce last year
advanced legislation we called the SKILLS Act to revamp the nation's
network of job-training programs, empower employers, and help put more
Americans back to work.
The committee is now working to improve career and technical
education, or CTE, by reauthorizing the Carl D. Perkins Career and
Technical Education Act. We are also exploring opportunities to
strengthen our higher education system through the reauthorization of
the Higher Education Act.
One of our top priorities in both these endeavors is supporting
innovation, whether by encouraging CTE schools to adopt technology that
mirrors the tools used in the local workforce, or by championing
policies that help students earn a postsecondary degree in less time,
with less debt. In fact, Matt Salmon has introduced legislation known
as the Advancing Competency Education Project of 2013 that lets
colleges offer federal financial aid based on students' prior
experience and knowledge instead of credit hours - allowing students to
advance in a degree program faster without accumulating as much debt.
As the committee continues to examine ways we can boost innovation
and support a 21st century workforce, it's important we hear from
students, educators, and state and local leaders about challenges and
opportunities facing the workforce and education system. Your feedback
helps inform and strengthen our work in Washington, and we are grateful
for your input.
Once again, I'd like to thank our witnesses for joining us today.
We look forward to a productive discussion. I will now yield to Mr.
Salmon for his opening remarks.
______
Chairman Kline. We have two distinguished panels of
witnesses today, and I would like to begin by very quickly for
the record introducing the first panel. I think Mr. Salmon did
an excellent job of providing the background for each of them.
So let me just quickly say that in the first panel we have
Mr. Rick Huemann. He currently serves as the vice mayor of the
City of Chandler, Arizona, having begun his tenure on the city
council in January 2009. Ms. Cathleen Barton serves as the
education manager for Intel Corporate Affairs, Southwestern
United States. Mr. Lee Lambert has served as chancellor of Pima
Community College since July 2013. I hope that date is right.
And Dr. William Pepicello has served as the president of the
University of Phoenix since 2006.
Before I recognize each of you to provide your testimony,
let me just very quickly go over our lighting system again.
This is the box that we have here. When I recognize you, you
will have five minutes to give your testimony. There will be a
green light that comes on. After four minutes, the light will
turn yellow, and at the end of five minutes the light will turn
red, and I would ask you to expeditiously wrap up your
testimony if you have not done so. And after all four witnesses
have completed their testimony, we will, each of us, will be
given five minutes to ask questions.
Okay. I would like now to recognize Mr. Rick Heumann for
five minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. RICK HEUMANN, VICE MAYOR, CITY OF CHANDLER,
CHANDLER, ARIZONA
Mr. Heumann. I am Chandler Vice Mayor, Rick Heumann. I want
to thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony for
today's hearing.
Before I discuss the Chandler Education Coalition and its
roots, I want to give a brief overview on the economic outlook
of Chandler and the region. Chandler today is a dynamic
economic generator that has branded itself as the innovation
and technology hub of the southwest United States, and for good
reason. We are a growing part of a global economy with a host
of companies, like Intel, Orbital Sciences, Microchip, Infusion
Soft, QBE, Bank of America, and General Motors' new innovation
center. Each of these companies and many, many more have a
significant presence in our city.
The Price-Rudd Corridor is home to many of these firms and
consistently makes the top list of hot economic corridors in
the Arizona development community. The Greater Phoenix Metro
Area also boasts a tremendous quality of life with mild
weather, low cost of living, and amenities like golf, trails,
and array of other outdoor pursuits.
Chandler also has one of the most stable fiscal positions
with AAA bond ratings from all three national agencies, one of
just two cities in Arizona and just 31 cities nationwide to
make that claim. Finally, Chandler enjoys the second lowest
cost of service levels for Phoenix metro residents when taking
into account property taxes, sales taxes, and utility costs.
Chandler has generated several thousand new jobs in the
past two years alone, and nearly 23,000 jobs from 2008 to 2013,
some of our roughest economic years in this country's history.
Many of the jobs being created in Chandler and the region fall
into the category of STEM--science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics. We are truly shifting to a knowledgeable
economy.
With that in mind, our city has partnered with Arizona
State University, my alumni, and the University of Arizona. ASU
recently opened the Chandler Innovation Center in the city's
former public works yard in our downtown core. ASU is holding
engineering classes there in unique partnership with local
industry. This alliance also includes Tech Shop, a leader in
the entrepreneurial maker movement.
The U of A is holding classes in our downtown community
center. These are master level teaching courses that also
include collaboration with our business community through a
very intense internship program. U of A also has lab space in
our city's innovation incubator for the Center of Applied
NanoBioscience and Medicine.
Chandler Gilbert Community College partners with many of
our local employers on specifically defined curriculum, like
clean room operations for Intel. All these programs are turning
out a very educated and prepared workforce.
But how do we sustain the development of a well-rounded,
qualified workforce? We must set our sights on developing
educated workers literally from birth so they are suitably
prepared to enter the classrooms ready to learn from day one.
That is why in 2011, I created the Chandler Education
Coalition. In this effort, I envisioned a collaborative systems
building effort to support the quality of educational
opportunity and school readiness in the City of Chandler.
We invited members of the education community, K through
12, community colleges, and our state universities. We have
corporate leaders from several sectors of the economy, and we
have a host of non-profit organizations at the table, as well.
This committee, made up of more than 30 organizations, is
committed to improving school readiness from cradle to
kindergarten across the City of Chandler.
The purpose of the Chandler Education Coalition is to
create a collaborative support system of community stakeholders
to ensure all Chandler children, birth through five, obtain the
necessary literacy skills for school readiness. We recently
partnered with Read On Arizona, a statewide public/private
partnership of agencies, philanthropic organizations, and
community stakeholders committed to creating effective
continuing services. Read On Chandler, like its parent group,
will work to improve language and literacy outcomes for
Arizona's children in these very formative years.
Another important component of this endeavor is our
relationship with the Arizona SciTech Festival. Chandler has
been a leader in partnering with the festival organizers at the
local level. For the past three years, we have held the
Chandler Science Spectacular. This three-day collaborative
event brings awareness to the world of science and includes
participation from several small businesses, high tech
companies, schools, and non-profit agencies. It is very
rewarding for me to see the enthusiasm and excitement from kids
and parents alike, because when we allow our youth to
experience science activities up close and personal, it
provides them with a vision that anything is possible for the
future.
I am personally committed to finding and engaging new
partners along the way. We envision our education pipeline that
will offer the opportunity, tools, and resources to every child
in our system achievement and success. We imagine companies
understanding our purpose and their role in this process. And
we predict unparalled success as a community from both an
education and economic standpoint, a role model for the nation
and for the world.
With that, I look forward to your questions and comments.
Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Heumann follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Kline. Thank you.
Ms. Barton, you are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF CATHLEEN BARTON, EDUCATION MANAGER, INTEL
CORPORATE AFFAIRS, SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES, INTEL
CORPORATION, CHANDLER, ARIZONA
Ms. Barton. Good morning, Chairman Kline, Representative
Salmon, and members of the committee. Thank you for the
opportunity to testify on the importance of business-higher
education partnerships to create a robust workforce development
network for our nation, for the state of Arizona, and for Intel
Corporation. My name is Cathleen Barton, and I am the education
manager for Intel in the Southwest U.S.
At the core of our education programs and advocacy are our
partners, and today I want to talk about three partnership
areas: programs to develop the next generation of innovators,
programs to hire the next generation of innovators, and
advocacy and programs to support innovative education
partnerships.
Intel is the world's largest semi-conductor manufacturer
and employs 105,000 employees worldwide. More than half of them
are here in the U.S. And at a time when the call for a revival
of U.S. manufacturing is the imperative for our nation, we are
proud that three quarters of our manufacturing and research and
development is here in the United States. A study by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates Intel's total impact on U.S.
GDP at $408.5 billion from 2008 to 2012.
Intel Chandler, where we manufacture our latest products,
is one of our largest and most complex sites in the world. We
invest $450 million in R&D each year with a 2.4 billion average
economic impact in Arizona, 11,000 employees --over that--are
in Arizona. Almost 800 are Ph.D.s, 2,200 have masters in
science, and 770 MBAs. We understand the importance of higher
education because they are the students we hire to design the
technology of the future, conduct our research, and run our
factories.
Intel hires more students from ASU for openings across the
U.S. than any other institution of higher education. Between
2010 and 2012, we hired 836 students from ASU and 182 students
from the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University.
Intel also partners with colleges and universities each
year to hire approximately a thousand summer interns. A new
Intel internship experience that was piloted with ASU and
Chandler Gilbert Community College is now being evaluated for
multi-company collaboration.
Intel's veteran recruiting team partners with several
university chapters of the Veterans of America organization in
order to support our goal of hiring veteran STEM and MBA
talent. This partnership includes both Arizona State University
and the University of Arizona.
Intel also partnered with ASU's College of Technology and
Innovation, developing a flexible B.S. engineering program for
some of our employees whose work schedules are not aligned with
a traditional academic calendar. In addition, to support
ongoing employee development, more than 1,100 employees
utilized Intel's tuition assistance program in 2012, over 300
of them in Arizona's public and private community colleges and
universities.
Partnering to keep our universities and their students up
to date and competitive is not only good for the technology
industry, but it is good for our local and national
competitiveness. Two elements of these partnerships include
curriculum development and access to new technology and tools.
For example, we partnered with ASU to develop a curriculum to
help students understand environmental and high volume
manufacturing challenges for the industry.
Regarding access to state-of-the-art technology and tools,
Intel is providing 50,000 kits featuring the new Intel Quark
technology to a thousand universities worldwide. This is our
Galileo project, and it will enable students to become the new
generation of entrepreneurs and inventors in rapidly growing
areas, such as the Internet of Things and wearable computing.
In addition to entrepreneurs and investors, Intel also
invests in the teacher workforce through partnerships like
Intel Math and Intel Teach, programs that help teachers become
better prepared to teach Arizona's college and career ready
standards. We invested in Intel Math, an intensive training
course for K-8 teachers, and partner with the University of
Arizona to implement it in Arizona and various other states.
Other successful Intel Math partnerships in Arizona include
the Arizona Department of Education, NAU, and the Arizona Board
of Regents. Intel Teach partnerships with higher ed and state
departments of education train teachers to develop students'
critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and
collaboration skills.
Finally, I would like to mention Intel's participation in
Governor Brewer's Arizona Ready Graduation Rate Task Force.
This task force is a collaboration of the business and
philanthropic community, early education, K-12, higher
education partners, including the Maricopa Community College
District. The task force is focused on expanding practices,
programs, and policies that decrease the number of high school
dropouts and increase graduation rates. Key areas of focus
include scaling successful career and technical education
programs, which are demonstrating high degrees of success.
Another innovative approach being explored to accelerate
high school education and training and postsecondary credit and
degree attainment include elimination of college remediation
and expanding early college and career high schools and other
grade nine through 14 pathways models. These programs are
delivering significant results in many cases with minority
students, students who are critically important to a majority/
minority population like the state of Arizona.
I want to thank you for the opportunity to provide
testimony this morning, and I look forward to your questions.
[The statement of Ms. Barton follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Kline. Thank you.
Mr. Lambert, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF LEE D. LAMBERT, CHANCELLOR, PIMA COMMUNITY
COLLEGE, TUCSON, ARIZONA
Mr. Lambert. Chairman Kline, Representative Grijalva--
Chairman Kline. Mr. Lambert, could you turn your mike on?
Apparently they are saying it is not. There we go.
Mr. Lambert. Do you want me to start over? Just keep going?
Okay.
Tucson, my home, is the sixth poorest of its size in the
U.S. Increasing our competitiveness in an unforgiving economy
is a top priority, but because of globalization and
technological advances, we know we are up against firms from
across the United States and around the world. The
approximately $46 million investment that the Federal
government makes in Pima allows us to achieve multiple goals,
particularly improving student retention, engaging underserved
communities, and meeting the needs of area business and
industry.
Recently, Pima was awarded two grants to help adult
learners transition into the workforce. Each contains an
element that requires us to engage the private sector. In 2010,
Pima secured a 5-year grant to provide education and services
to low-income individuals so that they could enter the fast-
growing healthcare sector. We aligned with our key partner,
Pima County One Stop, which provides Workforce Investment Act-
funded services to nearly 4,000 job seekers. More than a
thousand people have enrolled in our Health Professional
Opportunity Grant Program to date, with 210 of these formerly
jobless men and women finding employment in the healthcare
industry, making on average just under $12 an hour.
Similarly, the first three years of our participation in
the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career
Training Grant Program has been extremely successful. As part
of a community college consortium in Arizona, Pima prepares
students for skilled, high wage jobs in the energy sector. This
program is geared to helping military veterans and other adult
learners. Working in partnership with the local utility, in
this case, Tucson Electric Power, we have developed an
Electrical Utility Technology certificate, and will be adding
an associate's degree concentration as well. Tucson Electric
Power or its subsidiaries have hired 63 percent of the 50
students taking part in the program. We are working with
Southwest Gas Corporation to develop a similar program.
Regarding student retention, many of our students are of
extremely modest means, who often are the first in their family
to attend college. We strive to keep tuition low, but the
reality is these students cannot afford to attend college
without Federal financial aid, including Pell grants.
Regarding engaging underserved populations, I am proud to
say that Pima's adult education program is the second largest
here in the state of Arizona. Our adult education program
serves up to 6,100 students a year. The high school
equivalencies these women and men earn give them a chance to
climb the economic ladder. Also, Pima is developing new
contextualized learning initiatives that integrate adult basic
education with occupational skills training so that these
students are put on a fast track to postsecondary credentials.
Pima Community College is committed to aligning its
curriculum and services with the needs of industry to keep the
talent pipeline filled with workers who have the skills
business need now and into the future. Each of the college's
more than 120 occupational programs is assisted by an advisory
committee composed of representatives from local businesses who
can provide us with real-time, ground-level insights regarding
industry needs and emerging trends. These insights result in
real change in our programs.
An example of that is we are currently working with a
consortium of more than three dozen manufacturers to alter our
machine tool technology curriculum so it meets the National
Institute for Metalworking Skills certifications.
Again, I want to thank you for having me share what Pima is
doing with the federal investments you have made in community
colleges.
[The statement of Mr. Lambert follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Kline. Thank you.
Dr. Pepicello, you are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM PEPICELLO, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF
PHOENIX, TEMPE, ARIZONA
Dr. Pepicello. Chairman Kline, Representatives Salmon,
Grijalva, and Rokita, I would like to thank you for the
opportunity to testify on behalf of University of Phoenix and
its parent company, the Apollo Education Group. I am honored to
represent more than a million students, alumni, faculty, and
employees.
With more than 40 years within the academic community, I
can state unequivocally that the opportunities and challenges
facing higher education have never been more glaring than
today. Major economic forces are forcing change within all of
higher education, a constant global regeneration of new
information, and access to knowledge is forcing us to embrace
lifelong learning. Completing a degree program is just the
beginning for working Americans today.
The so-called traditional college student is no longer the
majority of students. Nearly three-fourths of all
undergraduates are considered non-traditional. The 18- to 24-
year-old undergraduate who enrolls full time after finishing
high school is the exception rather than the rule.
The nature of the workforce has dramatically changed as
well. Competition for jobs at every level comes from all over
the world. Accordingly, student expectations have changed
dramatically. They expect us to offer a foundation that is rich
in both academics and occupational skills, combined with an
approach that is more pragmatic. Knowledge must be portable and
cyclical at key intervals in career development.
Today's adult learners do not enroll in higher education to
discover who they are. They pursue education to connect to a
desired career. They seek access to an economy that will need
22 million new workers with postsecondary degrees by 2018. The
traditional higher education model serves as the foundation for
what is the greatest system in the world, but the longstanding
process of educating only 10 to 20 percent of our nation at the
college level and then relying on that small group to build our
companies and create jobs is distant history.
We commend the president for pushing for greater investment
and achievement in higher education. Unfortunately, many of the
policies focus on the traditional model as the primary means of
this educational delivery. Relying solely on this model could
hundreds of billions of dollars in public investment, a
significant amount made all the more significant by the trend
of declining investment from the public sector.
Our founder, Dr. John Sperling, believed that the private
sector had much to offer. In fact, many of the techniques first
pioneered by University of Phoenix are now considered beset
practice by the larger educational community. We believe that
our 845,000 alumni are living proof of the important role in
providing access to higher education for more Americans, and to
help them develop the skills to achieve their professional
goals.
Employers want their employees to develop competencies
throughout their education journey and to demonstrate the value
in the marketplace before they graduate. Our programs are a
direct response to those human capital needs. Our structure
allows us to adapt quickly to the changing demands of our
employer partners and our students. For example, we are
increasing our use of full-time faculty for first-year courses,
we are making improvements in our orientation programs for
students, introducing more certificate programs, and expanding
the use of adaptive learning. We invest millions each year in
instructional and student advisory services. These investments
provide a variety of pathways to support our students' career
preparation, leveraging the latest technologies to provide
education that connects more directly to graduates'
employability.
Our Stackable Credits Programs enable students to get a
certificate and earn a certificate prior to completing their
degree. Students are more likely to realize earlier returns on
their investments in this way, and we expect that they will
graduate at higher rates, too.
All of this must be tied, however, to what students require
as they evaluate their higher education options before they
enroll. Students with career plans, financial plans, and
support from employers are much more likely to succeed. Our
Phoenix Career Services features a career guidance system to
help prospective students make more informed decisions
regarding their career path and their education opportunities.
We are also helping prospective students understand tuition and
fees for their entire degree program and to build a personal
plan for how they will be able to pay for that education. Our
adaptive learning technologies in math allow us to adjust to
students' interactions and performance, anticipating what the
types of content and resources they need will be as they
progress.
While we continue to pursue innovation, the regulatory
framework that governs our higher education system is somewhat
antiquated, burdensome, costly, and often prevents robust
innovation. The deeply flawed gainful employment regulations
are just one example. Substantial revisions and enhancements to
existing statutory and regulatory framework must be made by
Congress in order to effectively measure the return on
taxpayers' investments. And any accountability structure should
be applied to all postsecondary institutions and for the
benefit of all students.
In closing, there are many promising innovations taking
route. Representative Salmon's bipartisan legislation on
competency-based learning is an excellent example of the type
of reforms that are needed as Congress moves forward to
reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965.
I want to thank you once again for this opportunity to have
testified. Thank you.
[The statement of Dr. Pepicello follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Kline. Thank you. Thank you all for excellent
testimony, and we will move now to questions from the panel. I
will start, and I will start with you, Dr. Pepicello, because
you brought up the regulatory regime which is out there, and
you mentioned gainful employment.
As you know, and I know you know this very well, the
Department of Education just a week or so ago released a
revised gainful employment regulation. How does this compare
with the last iteration, and what is the impact on the
University of Phoenix?
Dr. Pepicello. Well, the impact is probably not the major
issue for us. We believe that the regulatory environment as it
applies to higher education should be applied equitably and to
all institutions of higher education.
The issues that are addressed in this gainful employment
proposal as well as the earlier one are not issues that are
isolated within the for-profit higher education community. And,
in fact, gainful employment would have some effect on some of
the community college programs that are offered. So our concern
is that the focus may be too narrow, and we need to see how the
implications of gainful employment and similar regulations
would play out in the broader higher education community.
Mr. Lambert. May I add to that?
Chairman Kline. Yes, you may.
Mr. Lambert. I support the notion of having an
accountability system for our nation's community colleges. I
think it is important that we be able to say back to the
public, to all the folks who invest in us, and the students
what the return is going to be. I support making sure they get
livable wage jobs.
So in concept, I think it is a positive thing. Now, we need
to look at the mechanics and what the actual impact is going to
be. So I just want you to know that I am supportive of that,
and also the AACC. We have developed a voluntary framework for
accountability that we are really standing behind as an example
of our commitment to that.
Chairman Kline. Thank you. Ms. Barton, if I could, in your
testimony, you talk about veterans' programs and recruiting. I
would like you to take a minute and just kind of expand on
that. What skills do veterans have already that you are looking
at, and how do your programs help progress these skills towards
the direction you want to go?
Ms. Barton. So I would say that one of the most obvious
skills are leadership skills. And so, when we are looking for
veterans and looking to fill positions that require supervision
of our employees, that would be an area where there is an
abundance in skill.
The other piece would be that in an environment such as
Intel that is so technology heavy, if you will, the veterans
who leave the military with technical education and experience
is critical because we, in fact, can hire directly from the
military without any additional postsecondary education in many
cases when we are looking for people to help us run our
manufacturing floor.
And then, of course, we have ongoing training and
development--as I mentioned, the program with Arizona CTI--to
continue to develop those skills and capabilities whether it is
technical, in engineering, or in management, like our MBA
programs.
Chairman Kline. Great. Thank you. Mr. Huemann, you talked
about the Chandler Education Coalition, and I wrote down here I
think you said there are over 30 or so members. Did I get that
down right?
Mr. Heumann. We have 30 different organizations that are
involved, bringing their leaders to the table. So that 30
multiplies down amongst their staffs and their groups.
Chairman Kline. Well, what kind of decisions does this
coalition make?
Mr. Heumann. A couple of things we are working on. This
early literacy program we are working on, we feel it is so
important for kids to be able to read when they get to
kindergarten. And some of our socioeconomic areas that are more
challenged, it is a struggle. We have kids coming to school, in
some cases, 70, 80 percent of them are not ready for
kindergarten.
So this program we are rolling out this fall, we will be
able to go in and tackle getting kids to be able to read from
birth to five. It is so important. We feel that the kids are
not behind that way. You start out behind, and you have a
challenging time through your whole schooling system, and it
puts them behind all the way through school.
Chairman Kline. So the members of this coalition, you get
together and vote, or what is--
Mr. Heumann. We get together and work collaboratively. It
is a public/private partnership. Intel is at the table with us.
Many business organizations--our non-profits, our school
districts, our private schools, as well, are part of this--to
work together in a collaborative kind of effort. And we do vote
on certain issues based on the topic.
Chairman Kline. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Grijalva, you are
recognized. The microphones are--
[Laughter.]
Mr. Grijalva. Mr. Lambert, Doctor, you mentioned the role
of community colleges. In my opening statement, I talked about
adult-based education, and that, what is it, 16, 17 percent of
the 16 and above residents of our fine state are not graduating
from high school. And the 18,000 people that are served in
adult basic education kind of breaks out to heavy remediation,
literacy, high school equivalency, and then postsecondary work
as well.
A lot is said about students having to come in and do all
this remediation before they can do something else. Adult basic
education, like it or not, provides that safety net for a lot
of students.
Respond as to how you have integrated that into the
college. You have one of the largest, if not the largest, adult
basic education programs in the state, and how you see that as
part of this workplace model.
Mr. Lambert. So thank you, Representative Grijalva, for the
question. So looking at the fact that 78 million baby boomers
are going to retire, every single individual we have in our
society who is eligible to work, we need to bring them in and
train them properly. So we cannot afford to not keep a focus on
training and preparing our adult learners who have not reached
that GED and beyond place. So I think that is very critical,
first step.
I think second step, is we have integrated our adult
education program better into the fabric of our academic career
programs. So the first step is to bring them closer into what
we are going to start calling--I am losing the train of thought
here. We are going to integrate the learning into a
contextualized environment so that when the student comes in,
if she or he wants to be an aviation technology mechanic, that
is what you are, and we are creating an on-ramp through an IBES
type program that gets you there. And adult education feeds
through that funnel, if you will, to that pathway. So that is
an example, I think, of getting to a better success for those
students. And as you know, Pima Community College is delivering
one of the finest adult basic education programs in the
country.
Mr. Grijalva. The point, and you made it, is it is not just
intervention. There is a follow up.
Mr. Lambert. There has got to be a pathway. There has got
to be a pathway.
Mr. Grijalva. Ms. Barton, I mentioned also what I see as
essential down the road, a lot of lip service to the concept,
but not context to it, and that is that whole private/public
collaboration toward identifying what workforce needs are going
to be and aligning the education. Legislatively, how do we make
that not an option, but more of a reality?
Ms. Barton. I am not sure that you need to legislate that,
and I think that perhaps today more than ever before, the
business and education partnerships are much more evident,
certainly here in the state of Arizona. Both in the policy
arena, how we have had tremendous collaboration in that area,
but also in the program area. So I am not sure that is
legislative.
I think there is a natural desire between business and
education. We see that this is about innovation, economic
development, and personal prosperity.
Mr. Grijalva. I agree with you. I think the involvement of
the business community is essential. I was disappointed when we
had a proposition initiative to raise the amount of funding for
school children in our public schools--I believe we are 49th in
the country--that there was active opposition on the part of
the business community to that initiative, including
billionaires from outside the state that funded the effort to
undo that.
I say that because there is also a resource question.
Sometimes education is idea rich and resource poor. We all have
great ideas, but we can never implement them because you need
something. But it is more of a commentary than a question.
Doctor, with regards to the for-profit, you know, for-
profit colleges educate 13 percent of the students in this
nation, utilizing about 25 percent plus of all the federal aid,
whether it is Pell, secured loans, et cetera, and are
responsible for about half of the defaults in terms of the
loans.
I mention that because that was the genesis to begin this
gainful employment rule. And I agree with you, there are some
problems with that rule. I think it is too soft on the career
requirements in terms of what gainful employment is, and I
think it is too hard on other programs that are low cost in
which there is no real borrowing going on in the for-profit
sector.
I mention that because one of the gainful employment
programs that the Department of Education looked at, 72 percent
of the people leaving that program had a debt. And if they did
enough work, they ended up making less than a person that had
dropped out of high school. I do not think that is the income
of a good career education.
Chairman Kline. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Grijalva. [Off audio.]
Chairman Kline. I know you were.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Kline. Mr. Salmon, you are recognized.
Mr. Salmon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I ask a
question, I would like to actually recognize somebody that is
here that has been a tireless advocate of education across the
spectrum in Arizona, and somebody I deeply admire, Dr. Carolyn
Warner. Please recognize her.
[Applause.]
Mr. Salmon. Thanks for being here. My first question is for
you, Ms. Barton. And it is regarding the strong encouragement
from the technology industry to increase the number of H1B
visas in the country, which I do support. I think we have got
to meet the demands and be competitive on a global market, so I
think it is a good request. But it is a Band-Aid for a deeper
problem, and that is that we are not producing the kinds of
people that could be employed in the high tech realm where
those needs are. What do we need to do to fix that?
Ms. Barton. Thank you for the question and the opportunity.
First of all, I think it is a both/and solution. I do not think
that we are ever going to not want to hire the best and
brightest from around the world.
Mr. Salmon. Of course.
Ms. Barton. So thank you for continuing to work on that for
us. I think the other piece is the increased focus on the
college and career ready standards which ensure that all kids
will graduate high school with the broadest range of choices
and be able to pursue areas in the technology areas, like STEM.
I was just talking with someone yesterday at a tribal
leaders' conference on education. And she said to me, I was
with eight students who had made it from tribal communities to
Arizona State University, and seven of them said they were not
prepared. The school prepared them to get there, but not
prepared to succeed. So I think the preparation in K-12 is
critically important.
And then I think there are some incredibly innovative
programs in STEM education which get at something that really
is important to students, and that is they want to do something
that matters and makes a difference. So getting at programs
like the engineering projects and community service that we do
with Arizona State University and the University of Arizona
gives kids a chance to apply engineering principles, solve real
world problems that are identified by community-based
organization. So it is kind of STEM social innovation, social
entrepreneurship, and transformation.
Mr. Salmon. I saw a statistic that frightened me, and
hopefully one of you will correct me if it is inaccurate. But
any comments from anybody on the panel that internationally we
rank 24th in the number of baccalaureate degrees in STEM. And
as the only world super power, that is not acceptable. Any
thoughts on that? Anybody on the panel?
Dr. Pepicello. Well, I think it goes beyond that,
Representative Salmon. It is not just our production of STEM
degrees, but it is making sure that those degrees are in areas
where they are needed. One the things that goes to the
partnerships that the University of Phoenix has been very
active in is going to employers.
We have 2,500 partners nationwide, and the way we are
developing our curriculum, including forays into STEM, is to go
to the employers and ask them how it can be that there are so
many job openings in the country and we still have
unemployment. And they told us, as you just said, that we are
not producing what it is that employers are looking for. So we
are working hand in hand, not taking education to careers, but
working it backwards, starting with the careers and building
our education programs based on that.
Mr. Lambert. I think it is also important, Representative
Salmon, that we not lose perspective, that STEM is not just at
the baccalaureate level, but it is at the sub-baccalaureate
level.
Mr. Salmon. Great point.
Mr. Lambert. And as the Brookings Institute report
revealed, that almost half of that is at the sub-baccalaureate
level where our nation's community colleges fill that spot.
With that said, I think we have got to do a better job of
getting our young folks to understand that these are important
pathways. And they have to start to be engaged at probably late
elementary into middle school. And I do not think we are doing
enough at that level to create that interest and see that these
are great opportunities, not only at the baccalaureate level,
but at the sub-baccalaureate level.
Mr. Salmon. Thank you. Dr. Pepicello, my esteemed colleague
made some comments about the proposed rule last week, and I
just thought you might want to respond.
Dr. Pepicello. Well, you know, I think that the basic
issues here are those of transparency and accountability, and
that if students understand when they come to an institution
what the job possibilities are, what they can expect in ways of
return on that investment, that students are by and large
capable of making those kinds of judgments without having a
regulatory imposition there. So I think it is both making
students aware of what their responsibility will be if they go
down a certain path, and then having institutions be not just
transparent, but accountable for making sure that students have
that information.
Chairman Kline. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Salmon. Thank you.
Chairman Kline. The gentleman's time has expired. Mr.
Rokita?
Mr. Rokita. I thank the chair, and good morning to the
witnesses. Thank you for your testimony. I thank my friend,
Matt Salmon, for organizing us today. I know Matt to be direct
and honest, but, most importantly, he wears Arizona on his
shirtsleeves. So I think he does a great job for the state.
I also want to say that even though I am from Indiana, I
happen to know and have a friendship with your governor back
when we were both secretaries of state, and also your current
secretary of state. I know Jan and Ken, like Matt, to be very
honest, very direct. And without knowing or getting into the
specific policy issues that you all have to deal with as
Arizonans, I know that honesty and forthrightness is a rarity
and a prize in our business sometimes. And I just think you are
well represented in all those regards.
I have been in Arizona a few days now, and it is certainly
not my first trip. I like to think I am more than a tourist.
Half my mother's family, in the 1950s, I believe, migrated to
Arizona from Indiana. And I remember black and white super
eight reels that my grandfather's brother showed me, and
because they are in black and white you would think he was
filming the surface of the moon until Camelback Mountain came
into the viewfinder. So I also feel like I have grown up a lot
with this area. Ever since 1974 we have been spending our
Christmases here, so like many of you, I do not know snow at
Christmas.
And so, it is just with a great deal of pride that I spent
the last 2 days at tribal communities learning a lot about the
educational challenges and some of the breakthroughs, and what
self-determination and what ``hand up'' versus ``hand out'' can
do for communities. I spent some time at Great Hearts, a public
charter school management organization, and learned a lot about
what they are doing, similar to what we are doing in Indiana.
I went to the Scottsdale Airport where a lot of aviation
leaders got together. And aside from literally begging me to
help get the federal government's boot off the neck of that
industry, they were telling me how much they needed air frame
and power plant mechanics, how much they needed aviators. Then
I went to the Rodel Foundation where I visited with your former
CEO and many other community and philanthropic leaders, Ms.
Barton, to learn what they are doing and how they are taking
the bull by the horns, not waiting for any government program
or anything else.
And by the way, this does not just happen in Arizona. I
think for the first time in perhaps American history, I am
seeing more private individuals of all political stripes--
Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative--come together to
tackle this education issue that you so eloquently described
today. So thank you for your leadership as well.
In that regard, one thing that continues to percolate as I
have these meetings and hear your testimony, in the back of my
mind is still if we are going to be a free society, if we are
going to enjoy what I believe to be a unique American
exceptionalism, and if we are going to continue to be a nation
of self-governance, I need, we need, engaged citizens. We do
not need automatons.
And so, talk to me about what, even though you are going
to, for example, Dr. Pepicello, take the career and back up
from that, how you are going to give me an engaged citizenry
through what would be one career-oriented instruction when we
also know that the career that is needed or that the education
for a career that is needed today might very well change, and
probably will very well change, next year. And how do I have
people that have learned how to learn so that they can
transition easier?
Ms. Barton, you first.
Ms. Barton. Thank you, Mr. Rokita. I think that the college
and career ready standards that teach students critical
thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration
skills, as well as a deeper understanding in math and English
language arts, is part of ensuring that we are teaching
children how to learn.
Mr. Rokita. So you need a commitment to that as well at
Intel. You need someone ready to do that.
Ms. Barton. We are doing that, and we are a very strong
advocate of that. I think there is another really important
piece, though, and that is in that kind of education that is
very student centered, there is an opportunity starting at
kindergarten all the way through university and everywhere in
between to make sure that we have got students engaged in
problem solving and projects that matter to their communities
and they see the real world application of their education.
It also starts to develop them and have them see themselves
as having a place in their communities, and this is important
in the leadership piece as well.
Mr. Rokita. Thank you. And that is not just found in the
military. Mr. Pepicello?
Chairman Kline. The gentleman's time has expired. Actually
I know this trick very well. You talk up until there are two
seconds left.
We are not going to have another round of questions for
this panel because we have another panel coming. So I want to
thank the witnesses for excellent testimony, and engagement,
and the questions and answers. I appreciate it very much. You
all can stand down if you will, and we will bring the next
panel up.
I see the second panel is now seated. It is now my pleasure
to introduce our distinguished second panel of witnesses.
Dr. Michael Crow has served as the president of Arizona
State University since 2002. Is there going to be sort of a war
or something going here? I am not sure.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Kline. During his tenure at ASU, he has
established major trends, disciplinary research initiatives,
and witnessed an unprecedented academic infrastructure
expansion, tripled research expenditures, and attainment of
record levels of diversity.
Dr. Ann Weaver Hart is currently serving in her second year
as president of the University of Arizona. During her first at
the UA, Dr. Hart successfully led a process to create an
integrated strategic plan for the university's academic and
financial future.
Dr. Ernest Lara has served as the president of Estrella
Mountain Community College since 2007. He has previously held
faculty and leadership positions at ASU and three of the
Maricopa Community Colleges.
And Dr. Christy Farley serves as the vice president of
government affairs and business partnerships at Northern
Arizona University. Prior to joining NAU in 2004, Ms. Farley
served as executive director of the Arizona State Board of
Education.
I think you have all been in here at some point previously,
but just a reminder, this little box here is controlling our
lives for a while. When you start your testimony, the light
will turn green. After four minutes, it will turn yellow, and
after five minutes it will turn red, and I would ask you please
to wrap up your testimony. Then as you saw, when we ask
questions, we stay mostly within that five-minute window as
well so that everybody has a chance to ask questions and we can
get everybody involved.
So we are ready to go. I would now like to recognize Dr.
Crow for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL CROW, PH.D., PRESIDENT, ARIZONA STATE
UNIVERSITY, TEMPE, ARIZONA
Dr. Crow. Mr. Chairman and Representative Salmon, members
of the committee, it really is an honor to be here this morning
and have an opportunity to give you a few minutes of our
thinking about your objective, which is reviving our economy
for the 21st century workforce. The name of your committee
captures the central crux of the matter, which is the
correlation between education and the workforce, something
which has often been overlooked or set as a secondary
objective, I think, for many universities.
And so, looking at our university, Arizona State
University, here in metropolitan Phoenix, we asked the
question, ``How can we connect to business to address their
workforce needs?'' And the most fundamental thing that we have
focused on is actually reconceptualizing the purpose of the
university itself away from an isolated ivory tower-laden
institution to a frontline institution. The movement of the
university to the frontline is both a conceptual and a
practical exercise that we have been involved with heavily over
the last 12 years. It focused on resetting the vision of the
institution.
One part of that vision for our institution is taking
responsibility for the outcome of the social, economic,
educational, health, and well-being outcomes of our community.
Many universities do not take that on as a responsibility. We
do. For us, that has also meant setting new aspirations, design
aspirations, for our institution, focusing on use-inspired
scholarship, focusing on the university as an entrepreneur,
valuing place; that is, embedding ourselves deeply into the
local innovation ecosystem, into the local economic ecosystem,
if you will, in ways in which it has altered everything that we
do.
For us, this has meant working in new ways on every level.
It means embedding entrepreneurship as a curricular element
into all of our colleges, not just our business and engineering
college. It has meant for us the establishment of a unit
focused on what we call economic affairs, which is working hand
in glove with both companies that we are attempting to retain
in Arizona and in the United States and companies that we are
attempting to grow and nurture, and companies that we are
attempting to recruit. And so, these are new ways for us
interact, new ways for us to engage.
We have also become engaged in the development of a new
concept called i-projects where local companies--some of them
you heard about from the City of Chandler this morning and
elsewhere in metropolitan Phoenix and around Arizona and around
the United States--come to us with their problem or their
project. Students and faculty work together on this project or
this problem. Then the company is able to watch these students
engage in this project, and often then employs these students
after their opportunity to solve the specific problem.
A little side bar about that is that one of the things that
we have realized is that the up and coming workforce--I am not
a big believer in all of the negative things that people talk
about. I tend to focus on the unbelievable positive momentum
this country has, the unbelievable potential that our young
people have. And the one thing that we have realized in the
design of our university is that we have kept it too walled,
too separate, too disengaged.
So we have worked really hard to break those walls down so
that companies and their problems are embedded in our
pedagogical and educational activities so that the educational
experience is leading directly to, in a sense, what we heard
earlier from Representative Rokita, this notion of the
individual that can be engaged in an educational experience
where they can learn to learn anything, and also be prepared
for the workforce. And so, for us it is taking on these two
things together and restructuring our identity, restructuring
how we work, how we are organized, how we teach our classes,
how we instill entrepreneurial spirit into our students and so
forth.
Relative to the university as a partner, this is really
where the breaking down of the walls around the ivory tower are
most important. Intel, as an example, you heard earlier from
Cathleen at Intel, how we are working with Intel, but it goes
even deeper than that. We are a provider of human capital,
knowledge capital, ideas, solutions, mechanisms for change,
catalysts for change.
And so, what we do is we work in sort of a comprehensive
way, sitting with a company like Intel, and I can give you the
list of dozens, if not scores, of other companies that we are
working with in this way and saying, ``what is it that you need
from us as a partner?'' You need individuals who are educated
across three subjects, not just trained for a specific job. You
need individuals who have capacity to operate on a global
basis, the capacity to work in ways in which they are not just
an engineer, but they are working on other kinds of complex
problems at the same time, so we worked on that.
To Representative Salmon's point on STEM education, let me
just give you a context of how we have worked. In the last 10
years, we have been able to double the number of graduates
graduating from this institution from around 9,000 to almost
19,000. We have been able to quadruple the level of research,
and our faculty is the same size. We have been able to do that
as a function of making that our objective. We have been able
to do that as a function of breaking down the walls. We have
been able to do that as a function of finding new ways to link
with the economic success of this community.
One part of that obviously is STEM, so when you read the
national publications that no one is interested in STEM
education, I do not know where they are visiting. They must be
visiting somewhere other than Arizona. So we have seen a
massive increase in STEM educational activities at our
institution, more than double the number of majors. For our
incoming freshman class, of the ten leading majors, seven are
STEM majors.
And so, we have seen unprecedented increases of minority
students, young women going into the STEM education fields.
This has come about as a result, however, not of just saying
that we wish it was so. It has come about as a function of the
fact that we put a mirror on ourselves, changed our identity,
changed how we do things, and then changed everything along the
way.
And just very quickly, two things as recommendations for
the committee to consider: one, find innovative institutions
and find ways to rally around them. Everyone is trying to
change the entire system. That will not work. Second, hold
universities accountable for all of their products--private
universities, public universities, for-profit universities, all
of them--who they graduate, how they graduate, how they are
employed, what their debt is, how they work in the economy.
Hold everybody accountable. Everybody.
[The statement of Dr. Crow follows:]
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Chairman Kline. Thank you, Dr. Crow.
Dr. Hart, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF ANN WEAVER HART, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, THE UNIVERSITY
OF ARIZONA, TUCSON, ARIZONA
Dr. Hart. Got it. I appreciate it.
Chairman Kline. A little cooperation here.
Dr. Hart. A little cooperation between--
Dr. Crow. We are not playing them in the tournament yet.
Dr. Hart. It will be years, Michael. Years.
[Laughter.]
Dr. Crow. We are coming up from another bracket.
Dr. Hart. Well, unlike Nick Johnson, my vertical jump is
not 47 inches, but we are working at it at the University of
Arizona.
I am so honored to have the opportunity to speak with you
this morning and talk with you about the role the University of
Arizona plays in helping our state and our nation and our world
to meet the challenges that we are facing.
I also want to thank the committee for the work that you
are doing with the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
Congressman Salmon knows we appreciate your attention and
thought. We have at the University of Arizona an internal task
force that brings together those interested in the University's
issues. Congressman Salmon, thank you for taking the time to
meet with our task force and speaking with them about ways in
which we can be good partners.
Now, in our brief five minutes here today, I want to focus
on just three key issues related to our shared interest in the
role of higher education in advancing the well-being of our
nation. And I am going to limit my remarks to those with the
hope that we will have a chance to extend this dialogue over
time in the years to come.
The first is of great interest to all of us, and it is, in
fact, STEM research and education. And as you have heard from
my colleagues from other institutions, just being able to be
successful with the students who are already interested in STEM
makes a huge difference in the quality and numbers of young
people who come out of those majors. As the public land grant
research university and in the sense --a super land grant. We
have a medical school, but, no, we have two medical schools.
You can imagine how deeply engaged and involved we are in
the pipeline of talent from the STEM disciplines and how
invested we are in discoveries of high-tech and high-wage
fields that are so important to the well-being of our state and
nation. And these are also high-income and compensation skills.
So in the STEM disciplines, the U of A has a tremendous
contribution in medicine and healthcare, in space sciences and
optical sciences in which we lead the world in many of those
important issues, in land and arid environments and water
studies, which are critical to two-thirds of the agricultural
lands around the world, and a focus on defense and security.
And our research enterprise, which is currently over 600
million a year in external funding, is a huge economic driver
in the state of Arizona. And overall, with the spinoff and
amplifying effect, about $8.3 billion in the Arizona economy
alone.
Now, because of our high level of achievement in those high
tech fields, we are not engaged or involved in remedial
education, and rely for that --those fundamentals--very, very
tightly in our partnerships with community colleges and with
our other higher education institutions. We are a system of
providers that together and working closely together have a big
impact on a positive future.
A second of the major initiatives at the University of
Arizona that I want to highlight this morning is an initiative
we call 100 percent engagement. As you know, the process of
taking formally acquired learning from a laboratory or a
classroom and applying it to new settings is a very, very
difficult process to achieve. And we are committed at the
University of Arizona to making sure that every one of our
students has a carefully structured and formal experience,
require them to do that, and to take what they are learning and
apply it in many, many, many settings, a critical way in which
we help to create opportunities for students to be more than a
student. And as my colleagues have emphasized, a critical step
in the effectiveness of higher education.
Our students work with world class scientists and scholars,
with partners from industry and business. Our UA students learn
cutting-edge work in their fields. One example I would use is
the University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx Mission, which will be
bringing a soil sample back to Earth from a near-Earth
asteroid, and which involves students directly from the
undergraduate level in all the scientific disciplines, but also
engineering, management, information science, public relations,
and communication, where students are working directly in those
important fields.
And then finally, our partnerships with local industry, as
you have heard, are very deep and extend into the high-tech
fields that are so much a part of the University of Arizona's
commitment to synergy in all aspects of our high-tech industry
and the application of education to our future.
[The statement of Dr. Hart follows:]
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Chairman Kline. Thank you, Dr. Hart.
Dr. Lara, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF ERNEST A. LARA, PH.D., PRESIDENT, ESTRELLA
MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AVONDALE, ARIZONA
Dr. Lara. Chairman Kline, Representative Grijalva,
Representative Salmon, Representative Rokita, thank you for the
opportunity to testify before the committee today. I am Ernie
Lara, president of Estrella Mountain Community College, and I
appreciate the committee's interest in the vital role community
colleges play in the economy through our workforce development.
Estrella Mountain Community College offers transfer-ready
academic courses and job-specific occupational training to the
western metropolitan Phoenix population. Estrella Mountain is
surrounded by six distinct municipalities. We make it our
mission to determine the workforce needs of our community, our
region, and our state.
We are committed to the type of systemic, meaningful
engagement and participation in the environment that provides
insight into unmet needs, emerging industries, and new markets
required for trained workers. Our faculty and staff are
involved with local, regional, and national advisory boards and
associations to keep abreast of emerging issues in industries.
We are data driven. Routine environmental schemes identify
needs and potential workforce opportunities. As one of the 10
Maricopa Community Colleges, we benefit from our Office of
Workforce Development, which leverages expertise in the greater
Phoenix work base and ongoing research regarding issues and
trends.
Estrella Mountain is working to fulfill the needs of energy
in the mining sectors as a lead partner in the Arizona Sun
Corridor and Energy Consortium. Alignment to engineering
programs provides a labor pipeline for our energy partners.
Sequence certificates allow students to climb a career ladder
directly into higher paying jobs, while gaining the necessary
education.
Credentials are earned at three different points in the
program: basic training, industry fundamentals, and job
specific. And they are stackable, supported by trade
adjustment, assistance community college, and career training
or TAC grant. Five colleges, including Chandler Geller
Community College, are working with each other, workforce
entities, and our industry partners to create best practices
training programs that prepare workers for the jobs of today
and tomorrow in the energy industry.
Estrella Mountain is finalizing curriculum for certificates
and a degree in cybersecurity information assurance, and is
planning on offering these programs in the fall of 2014. We
have begun the process to receive designation as a center for
academic excellence for 2-year colleges. The new cybersecurity
information assurance program is built on the foundations of
the college's strong networking and information technology
programs. Students will earn credentials in these fast-growing
and high-demand fields.
Transferring to a 4-year institution is an important part
of preparing the workforce for a 21st century career. Estrella
Mountain offers the Maricopa Pathways Program and provides
students and their families time and cost-saving options in
high demand degree programs with our nearest 4-year transfer
partner, Arizona State University, ASU.
Community college students who meet certain requirements
are offered tuition incentives and guaranteed admissions into
specified degree programs on transfer to ASU without loss of
credit. Students will have earned an Arizona general education
curriculum, an associate's degree, while at the community
college. Students and their families save time and money.
Pell grants are vital to the students at Estrella Mountain.
Pell Grants often go further at a community college because
costs are generally less and students have a lower income on
average. If Pell or other federal aid programs were cut, over
half of Estrella Mountain's degree/certificate seeking students
would not have access to the funding they need to attend
college.
In closing, I would like to point out that Estrella
Mountain, like Chandler Gilbert Community College, is one of
the 10 Maricopa Community Colleges. Together, the Maricopa
colleges are the largest provider of workforce training in the
state. We generate an estimated $3 billion in annual direct and
indirect economic benefit within our county through the
increased skills learned at Maricopa, the increased output of
businesses due to these skills, and through the higher earnings
of our students. We know that two-thirds of all jobs available
in Maricopa County will require the skills we teach, and we are
training students in 95 percent of the highest demand
occupations.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I will
provide additional materials for your reference in the record
with the Chairman's permission. Mr. Chairman, I yield.
[The statement of Dr. Lara follows:]
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Chairman Kline. Thank you very much. Thanks.
Ms. Farley, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF CHRISTY FARLEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT
AFFAIRS AND BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS, NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY,
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Ms. Farley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members. Thank you
for having us here today, and we are glad to have you in
Arizona. We appreciate the opportunity to talk about the
success of Northern Arizona University. And you have heard the
themes throughout the morning of change and collaboration. So
those really are, as President Crow mentioned, integrated from
the inside of our university out.
And NAU's main campus in Flagstaff positively impacts the
Arizona community in a number of ways. For northern Arizona,
from the basic standing, we are the largest employer in that
region. Our faculty and staff have made Flagstaff their home,
and they are engaged in the community in a number of ways.
Institutionally, we are a significant partner throughout
the state, engaging enterprises that address community and
statewide needs. From our High Country Conference Center in
Flagstaff, which supports the nationally-recognized Hotel and
Restaurant Management School at Northern Arizona University
that was built in partnership with City of Flagstaff and a
private hotelier, Drury Hotels, who was attracted to the area
to be on our campus to support this project. That is one
example of the combination of educational opportunities along
with business opportunities and support for the community.
In addition, we have the Keim lab that partners with TGen
North. Al Keim has been nationally recognized as an expert in
the field of biodefense agents, and we do a lot of infectious
disease research. We have recently signed an understanding with
the Flagstaff Medical Center to facilitate research on
infectious diseases and population health in the northern
Arizona community. And we are recognized as experts in land
management and forest health, and support not only Arizona, but
our tri-state group of Colorado, New Mexico, and northern
Arizona on those areas.
The universities can no longer afford to operate as silos
who are simply responsible for imparting education. We are
integrated in the communities in a number of ways. To explain
the ways that we have adapted, I want to touch on two
particular programs through Northern Arizona University.
We are nationally-recognized for our statewide delivery
methods throughout the state. In the old days, that used to
mean flying faculty all over Arizona to work with the community
colleges to impart bachelor's degrees and master's degrees.
That model is very different today as we move from taking
faculty to the site, through ITV, through online delivery. And
I want to thank Congressman Salmon for advancing the discussion
of competency-based education.
Northern Arizona University is very proud to talk about our
progressive model of competency-based education, and in the
spring of 2013, we received approval from the accrediting body
to move forward with this project. We then received permission
from the U.S. Department of Education through the model of
competency-based education and awarding credits for those
competency demonstrations in order to begin providing financial
aid for the students in that program.
So it just began over the summer. We now have approximately
122 students enrolled in this competency-based education
program. And what it is a program geared towards adult learners
where prior learning competencies are assessed and credits
awarded. Faculty members from the specific fields of study
contact students at least weekly to help guide their learning,
and assessments are measured through rigorous testing,
including writing-intensive projects and at least one
presentation.
As detailed in H.R. 3136, introduced by Congressman Salmon,
direct measures of learning would include projects, papers,
exams, presentations, or portfolios. These are all
demonstrations of success that are looked for in the workforce,
and we believe adequately assessed and measured by universities
in order to establish direct assessment and learning. We
support the pilot program.
The cost for the personalized learning program at Northern
Arizona University is $2,500 for 6 months' worth of education.
So as has been outlined, individuals may enroll at any time.
They take an assessment to ensure that they can manage those
competencies of learning in this delivery method, and they can
advance based on the skills that they come in with and their
dedication to move through the programs. We currently offer
three degrees: computer information technology, small business
administration, and general liberal studies.
To just briefly mention, we are a partner with the
University of Arizona at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus to
respond to the growing healthcare workforce needs in Arizona.
Northern Arizona University has provided the only public
physical therapy program in this state, and we have now added
physician's assistant, and will add occupational therapy on
that site in the fall of this year.
So in order to address those workforce needs, we have met
with the healthcare providers to see how best we can fit that
niche in partnership with the College of Medicines existing in
the state and to add to the need for nurses and other fields.
Mr. Chairman, members, I know I am out of time. I am happy
to answer questions.
[The statement of Ms. Farley follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Kline. Thank you. Thanks to all the witnesses. As
always, we are going to run out of time pretty quickly.
Let me start the questioning with you, Ms. Farley. I do not
know why I tend to go to the last person who spoke. But what
you are talking about is innovation and how you provide the
instruction to provide reason. And we are very interested in
the competency-based model. It is incredible how hard it has
been, how some schools have really had to struggle through the
sort of government morass in order just to get the approval to
start this.
So my question to you is what can the federal government do
to ensure that we are not standing in the way? And I am
thinking of that from the administration's perspective, but
also legislatively. What can we do to free that up?
Ms. Farley. Well, Mr. Chairman, I think that it has been a
struggle to be able to get to this point, not only through the
regulatory side of the financial aid that is awarded, but
through the accreditation process. I would like to think that
we now have a very strong program, but it is still fitting--we
have stretched the circle for the peg to fit in to be more of
an oval to award credits in order to comply with financial aid.
But as these programs evolve, we have to think differently
about how students can be eligible for financial aid in order
to adjust to the competency-based education.
So awarding credits works in the short term, but it does
slow the ability of us to add additional degrees quickly
because we have to de-structure that education and pull apart
the pieces to show how the competencies and the direct
assessment match with the award of credit. So it is a time
consuming process, which slows the entrance of degrees.
I think that with adequate accountability measures, pilot
programs certainly offer an opportunity for innovation to occur
more quickly for us to gather data on that and then to provide
demonstration of success. And I think that we will quickly be
able to do that.
Chairman Kline. So, Dr. Crow, you wanted to say something.
Dr. Crow. Yeah. Just very quickly, one idea that comes to
mind, and Dr. Lara mentioned it, we put in place these pathway
programs which move from community college into the university
as automatic admission and automatic moving forward.
One thing that the committee might think about is
encouraging the military, in particular, to have these exact
same pathways. So in your case, helicopter pilot training, all
the things that you went through, there was no automatic
movement of those things you had done in the military that then
would move you exactly into the university in a particular
position.
As far as I know, that has never been done on the level
that it could be done. And so, one thing that the committee
might do is encourage the military and the universities to
build these automatic pathway programs, then to move into the
corporate world where we do the same thing. So what Christy is
talking about is it takes too much time to do it on a one-
person-by-one-person-by-one-person kind of basis. We need to
make it systematic, and then there would be a way for this to
occur.
Chairman Kline. I am thinking in terms of a Marine
helicopter pilot, we can do just about anything. So it would be
pretty easy to set that up.
Dr. Crow. I am sure that we would do that.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Kline. Dr. Hart, picking up how this works here,
but I was interested when you said you do not do remedial
education. One of the things that we hear and I hear as I
travel around the country is how many students show up for
college, and they are just not ready. They simply are not
ready. And so, they have to have remedial education. You have
apparently got an arrangement with the community college. Could
you take a minute and explain how that works, how that system
works?
Dr. Hart. Sure, I would be happy to. And as my colleagues
on the panel here this morning have said, all of us are engaged
in those innovative programs that provide a pathway.
One of the worst things I think you can do to a young
person is admit them to a university for which they are
unprepared to succeed, help them borrow money and invest their
time and energy, and then say farewell and watch them flunk
out, with no degree and the debt that goes with that. And as
you know, that is a downward spiral for a young person to get
involved in.
So like ASU, we have partnerships with our community
colleges, including the 10 Maricopa Community Colleges, that
involve, as you have heard, dual admission so that when
students complete the program at the community college that
brings them to a level of achievement, then they can make a
smooth transition and be successful. And when they walk and
receive that degree after those four years, nobody asks them
how they spent their first two. A degree from the U of A is a
degree from the U of A, and those are critically important.
And my colleagues and I are very concerned about the number
of high school graduates who do not even take a curriculum that
allows them to be eligible to apply for admission to our
institutions.
Chairman Kline. Thank you. My time has expired. Mr.
Grijalva?
Mr. Grijalva. Ms. Farley, the accreditation for the
competency-based education programs, and congratulations on
that. The accreditation process is different from the other
regulatory issues that you mentioned in terms of financial aid
and how financial aid can be more flexible in order to adjust
to this. Two different things?
Ms. Farley. Congressman Grijalva, yes, they are two
separate things. The accreditation of our academic programs is
a process that we go through, and it affects the basic programs
that we have on the Flagstaff campus. So that is a separate
issue which we were able to navigate prior to being able to
work out all of the issues related to financial aid.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. The advisor for the subcommittee
on our side of the aisle, Mr. Williams is an alumni of NAU and
he didn't want me to say anything, but I thought I could--
Ms. Farley. Congressman Grijalva, thank you. We had a nice
chance to visit in advance, and we are happy to see our alumni
in great positions.
Mr. Grijalva. Well, you should have seen the--
[Laughter.]
Mr. Grijalva. Very easy. Dr. Hart, the financing of a
public institution like University of Arizona, the
corresponding reduction at the state level in terms of support
for the university, how do you compensate for that reduction?
And how does that impact the course offerings, the adjustments
that are having to be made for the demands for a new workforce?
How do you compensate for that?
Dr. Hart. It is a very complex question, thank you,
Congressman. I appreciate the opportunity to respond. As you
know, our funding here provided by the state of Arizona for the
public universities--the three of us, and our community
colleges have other challenges as well--has been reduced by
about 40 percent since 2008. And we have been able to gradually
adjust to some of those cuts with increases in tuition, but we
do not cover the difference. The delta is much larger than the
2008 state funding would have provided.
So we are doing a number of things at the University of
Arizona, diversifying our revenue streams that support the key
activities. And at the University of Arizona, that includes
major high tech partners who work with us to provide a world
class education, but also fill the needs of their workforce. I
will use as an example we have one of the world's leading
mining engineering programs. Dr. Mary Poulton is someone that I
think some of you have already met. And we, in fact, are taking
your congressional staffers to our mine. We are the only
program in the country that has one. And we have a very, very
tight partnership with the mineral extraction industry that
leads us to be able to do more high tech world class things,
but also provide a workforce that is 100 percent employed when
they graduate at an average of about $80,000 a year. Those are
huge partnerships.
Then we have to cut our overhead. We are constantly in a
position of doing more and better with less of our total
revenue going to the business of running our institutions.
Mr. Grijalva. Is there a tipping point? There's a tipping
point, I assume?
Dr. Hart. I think there would be a tipping point. If we
reached the point where the balance of our ability to deliver
the programs and the research that is so critical to the
prosperity of our nation, and with so little support from the
state, there will be a point where we will just have to say
what is that relationship and how might we have to revise it.
Mr. Grijalva. Dr. Crow, you described that scenario, the
pathways. Thank you. You talked about the alignment that has to
happen, with regard to the military as an example, you go down
to the corporate world. What prevents the public institution
from doing that now?
Dr. Crow. Well, nothing prevents it. It is basically a
lesson learned. It is something we should have been doing that
we have not been doing. We have been now applying it in a new
way. Part of it is the academic culture itself, which is where
I started my comments. So in most academic cultures, the
dealing with community colleges or the military or something is
someone else's business.
And so, now we realize it is not someone else's business,
it is our business. And so, that has been the prevention up to
this point has been ourselves. And can we do it? The answer is
yes.
Mr. Grijalva. Dr. Lara, we have ten seconds left. The
chairman is strict about that. How many students in the
pathways? And you mentioned savings. What are the savings?
Dr. Lara. Right now we projected approximately 12,000
students in the pathway programs that are moving to Arizona
state universities. And we have also figured that it is about a
60 percent savings if they complete the first two years with us
and then transfer to Arizona State University.
Chairman Kline. Thank you. Mr. Salmon?
Mr. Salmon. Thank you. I am going to piggyback on a
question that Mr. Grijalva had. The state of Arizona's
Constitution says, and I am going to paraphrase, that higher
education should be as close to free as possible. Given the
fact that the funding levels at the state have so dramatically
dropped in the last several years, how do you meet that
obligation? And I am asking both you, Dr. Crow and Dr. Hart.
And I have a second question I would like you to address,
too. I am going to try to get it all in so I can cheat the
system.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Kline. That is not going to happen.
Mr. Salmon. The second question is, one of my top
priorities is international trade, and especially for the
Arizona economy. I think that would really bolster our economy.
We have relied way too much on home building and good weather,
and I think we have to diversify dramatically our economic
development portfolio. And I would like to ask how the
universities can help us to get more international trade in the
state of Arizona.
And then thirdly, and this would be more for you, Dr. Hart.
My son just finished his fourth year of medical school, and one
of my biggest concerns is residencies. We are woefully
inadequate here in Arizona with the number of residency spots
that we have. And we know that typically speaking, where a
person does their residency, that is where they are going to
stay. And I would like to know, I have co-sponsored a bill that
would dramatically increase the number of residencies across
the country, and I would like to hear your thoughts on that.
So, Dr. Crow?
Dr. Crow. Quickly on the first two questions, on the issue
of the cost of instruction being as close to free as possible,
obviously all of us are deeply committed to that. There is
commitment and there is actually figuring out how to do it.
In our particular case, it has focused on an unbelievable
focus, unrelenting focus on innovation. So for instance, where
we had been suffering relative to incoming students relative to
math, it is not so much their lack of preparation. It is their
lack of understanding the rigor they are about to encounter. It
is the rigidity of the rigor with which we have presented it.
So we have in that particular area, math alone, freshman math,
now completely changed the way that we do everything through
the introduction of adaptive learning systems.
And so, we are introducing technology, reorganization of
the university, restructuring of the institution, analytics,
tools, everything you can possibly imagine. And we have
continued to keep the university accessible in relative terms
through those activities and a deep commitment to financial
aid. We could spend more time on that at some point.
To your second question, international trade, probably the
three most important things that we can do to stimulate
international trade, which is, as you know, a way to generate
new capital in the United States rather than just recycling the
capital that we have, are basically export-oriented startups.
So ASU has received about $400 million in venture capital for
export-oriented startup companies in the last few years in
battery technology and materials technology and device
technology. They are all export or export-oriented. Some of
them, in fat, are export only.
Working these new technologies invented in the United
States, developed in the United States, sold first overseas,
and then working our way back to American markets, that is one
part of the strategy. The second part of the strategy is
international students, international students, international
students, with huge incentives for them, once, in a sense
attracted from the best and brightest around the world, to stay
in the United States and to apply their wares.
And then I think finally relative to international trade is
the university actually being involved, all the universities
being involved, in the actual acquisition of foreign direct
investment in the U.S. for trade back to other countries. And
so, we are involved in a number of these missions and ventures.
And so, that is the way that we are working.
Just a small point. We run an office now in of all places,
Congressman, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in collaboration with
the American government, the Vietnamese government, and 40
companies, with our main partner being Intel, which help the
businesses they have in the United States to be more
successful. So you have to be able to operate on that kind of
scale also.
Dr. Hart. Thank you. I appreciate the question. I will just
add to what my colleague has already said, that the question of
as close to free as possible also is relative for different
families. And while the Constitution does not recognize that,
all of us have worked very, very hard to take maximum advantage
of the Pell Grants, which are huge, but also large proportions
of institutional aid.
And in Arizona, that aid comes from our institutional
budgets, and we are and continue to remain very, very committed
to that. Our in-state students, in fact, pay a tiny proportion
of the sticker price of tuition at the University of Arizona,
and up to 50 percent of last year's entering class of freshmen
who were in-state students paid no tuition at all.
The challenges that presents for us is in balancing the
world class institutions that we represent against trying to
keep those costs down for the individual families as much as
possible. And there are many policy initiatives that would be
helpful to us in making that happen. So it is critically
important, and we focus on it a lot. But we need partners in
our federal government as represented by this committee, but
also in our state leaders to see what those needs are.
In regard to international trade, it is interesting that
you would ask. Dean Joaquin Ruiz is leading a delegation right
now represented by and including Mayor Stanton and others to
Mexico City to advance and establish trade there. And we are
deeply engaged, especially in our high tech and science fields,
how that trade among our countries could be advanced.
We personally have been invited by DP World in Dubai to be
a partner with them, and our huge alumni base in the Arab Gulf
states is working with us to make sure that we at the
University of Arizona are represented in the future of the
economies in that part of the world as well.
Chairman Kline. The gentleman's time has expired.
Dr. Hart. GME, we will get back to that.
Chairman Kline. Yes, the residency question will have to
wait for another day. Mr. Rokita?
Mr. Rokita. That was a good trick, Matt. Residency in ten
seconds.
Dr. Hart. Residency in ten seconds? We not only have a
lower number of graduate medical education slots per capita
than other states, but the national policy is critical. In
1996, Congress placed a cap on the number of Medicare-supported
residencies. Our major population growth has been since then.
And so, the support is unbalanced and deeper in parts of the
country with a flat or declining population.
Mr. Rokita. So you heard the federal government is broke.
You heard we have $17 trillion in debt driven by 60 percent of
our spend is in Medicare, social security, net interest for
ourselves and other countries, and the smorgasbord of other
welfare entitlement programs. So if the residencies are the
priority and they are Medicare-funded right now, what is not a
priority in Medicare? Where would you see the shift?
Dr. Hart. Where funds would be taken from in order to
invest--
Mr. Rokita. Instead of printing the money.
Dr. Hart. Well, you do not have print the money, but we
need to be partners, and also encouraging the healthcare
providers who sponsor some of our GME sites--
Mr. Rokita. So public/private partnerships?
Dr. Hart. So partnerships are huge.
Mr. Rokita. Okay. Thank you.
Dr. Hart. And our medical schools need to be involved with
those providers.
Mr. Rokita. Thank you. Dr. Crow, I want to get to your
testimony. I appreciate that. You mentioned at the end of your
testimony two points. The first one was--
Dr. Crow. The first one of the points that I made?
Mr. Rokita. Yeah, to reiterate, at the end of your
testimony you said two take-aways. What was the first one
again?
Dr. Crow. The second one I know was about transparency. The
first one was to focus on innovative institutions. That is,
right now what happens in the policy making process, people
tend to want to correct everything at one time. It is not
possible. Find the innovators. Work with them. Move on.
Mr. Rokita. So hold everyone accountable was your second
point. You rattled off real quick. I just want to make sure we
have it for the record some things to--
Dr. Crow. Oh, three things. So it is about you are held
accountable for graduation, you are held accountable for the
performance of your graduates, and you are held accountable for
the debt defaults of your graduates. And what I mean is that at
some scale in some ways, everybody has to be accountable.
Mr. Rokita. Right, right, right. So on this gainful
employment regulation concept that you are familiar with--
Dr. Crow. Yes.
Mr. Rokita.--you say that should apply to you, too.
Dr. Crow. I think everything should apply to everyone.
Mr. Rokita. Great. Do you agree with that, Dr. Hart?
Dr. Hart. Yes, and we are very proud of our outcomes.
Mr. Rokita. Great. Thank you. Dr. Lara?
Dr. Lara. Yes. We also agree that the gainful employment--
Mr. Rokita. So not just the for-profits is what I am
getting at.
Dr. Lara. It applies to all of us.
Mr. Rokita. Great. For the record, Ms. Farley agrees. Thank
you very much.
What percentage of your total--I am going to try to go real
quick here. What percentage of your total spend in a budget
every year is on teachers' salaries?
Dr. Crow. You mean on the faculty itself?
Mr. Rokita. Yes, as a percentage--
Dr. Crow. My instructional costs within the institution are
about half the institution's operating--
Mr. Rokita. That is teachers' salaries. That is faculty
salaries.
Dr. Crow. Well, it is the faculty, the librarians, the
instructional activity. The teachers, the instructors, the
faculty members, we have about 3,000 faculty members. It would
be about 75 percent of that half.
Mr. Rokita. Okay. Doctor?
Dr. Hart. About $700 million of our 7.18 billion is
directly general fund unrestricted and goes to the education--
Mr. Rokita. What percentage is that of your total spend?
Dr. Hart. That is about 50.
Mr. Rokita. Fifty? Doctor?
Dr. Lara. Our percentage is very close. Ours is about 51
percent.
Mr. Rokita. Oh, so a pattern here. Ms. Farley?
Ms. Farley. Yes, we would be in the same pool.
Dr. Hart. Congressman, I would add that in our case, those
other dollars are restricted and are often from the federal
government and research grants. They are not dollars that are
just spent on other things than supporting education.
Mr. Rokita. Right, right. So my question goes to tenure, I
guess. Is tenure past is prime?
Dr. Crow. So tenure is basically an urban myth in the
following sense. Tenure is not lifetime employment. Tenure is
lifetime ability to pursue any idea you want to pursue without
being interfered or crushed by--
Mr. Rokita. So you are for tenure still. That is not a
problem. Does it hinder competition?
Dr. Crow. No. So we are for what we call tenure with
responsibilities. So we dismiss tenured faculty members on a
regular basis for their non-performance, including yesterday.
Mr. Rokita. Thank you. Dr. Lara?
Dr. Lara. I would agree. Tenure is something that is
important, but also Maricopa Community Colleges has just
instituted new policies on the way we evaluate faculty. So it
is critical that they are performing.
Mr. Rokita. So you are recognizing change is needed in the
tenure process.
Dr. Lara. Yes, I believe changes are needed.
Mr. Rokita. Mr. Farley?
Ms. Farley. Congressman, I would say that we have already
integrated those changes into the tenure process to make sure
that it is not a problem and making sure that we have quality
tenures.
Mr. Rokita. When was the last time you got rid of a tenured
professor?
Ms. Farley. Mr. Chairman, I would have to look at that
because I do not do that academic side of the house.
Mr. Rokita. Fair enough. Dr. Hart, I think you will have
the last word.
Dr. Hart. We have two faculty right now involved in the
process. And the issue is that we need to make sure that we
have post-tenure review and that we use our own policies to
take action when faculty are not performing.
Mr. Rokita. Yes. So this panel seems, Mr. Chairman, to have
the courage to do that. I appreciate your leadership.
Chairman Kline. The gentleman's time has expired. All time
for questions has expired.
We have got a couple of closing statements, and I am going
to turn to Mr. Salmon first for any closing remarks that he
might have.
Mr. Salmon. I think that the panel or the members of the
delegation up here, the members of the committee, I think have
been given a rare treat, to be able to see in America how
education leaders are pioneering new things, breaking outside
of existing paradigms, and focusing on not just education
outcomes, but employment outcomes.
And I am really proud of the job that our universities are
doing in the state of Arizona. I think they are second to none.
I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I have had a chance to
work very closely over the years with Dr. Crow, and to say I am
one of his biggest fans would be the understatement of the
world. I am really proud of the way you have shaken up the way
of thinking here in Arizona about higher education. And I think
it is becoming infectious across the land. I think it is a good
thing.
And, Dr. Hart, you know, what a breath of fresh air.
Welcome to Arizona. We are so thrilled to have you and excited
to work with you. I have known Christy for a lot of years and
Dr. Lara. You guys, you exemplify everything that we want to
see happening in education as we move forward. And it is just
an honor to have you here.
I asked for this field hearing because I knew that you
would not disappoint, that you would show this panel and
hopefully the rest of America that some really wonderful things
in higher education are happening in Arizona. I am proud of my
relationship with the University of Phoenix, too, who testified
in the first panel. And they have tried some very, very
innovative things that pioneered online programs that have been
replicated successfully all throughout the country, actually
the world.
But, Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for bringing this
committee to Arizona. I am proud of what we got here, as you
can see, and I am just thrilled that you got a taste of what I
have been seeing for a very long time. Thank you.
Chairman Kline. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Grijalva?
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Chairman, and I really appreciate
the hearing. And it was a very good hearing and a very good
dialogue as we proceed on the path to reauthorization of the
Higher Education Act. In doing so, I think a lot has been
learned. For one thing, I think the issue is accountability for
that 140 billion investment that taxpayers make in our higher
education and colleges across this country.
And we hear during this reauthorization a lot about
increased accountability, expanded accountability, new means to
deal with the issue of accountability. And I think that
exploration is worth undertaking, but it must, as you said,
extend to all.
And I thank the people who are here with us today. Congress
would need to expand that gainful employment, that applies to
career colleges right now, mostly community colleges and for-
profits, so we need to expand what that definition is in terms
of information.
I do not think it is wrong to ask for-profit colleges in
this rule what is your placement rate and how do you define
placement. Do you count short-term placements? Question. What
percentage of students default on their federal loans?
Question. Do any of your professional programs lack
programmatic accreditation? Question. What percentage of your
income comes from all types of federal aid, including military
and veterans education? Question. I think that question is
applicable to all, and everybody is accountable for that.
I want to thank the institutions here today in Arizona
facing the cuts that they faced at a state level, particularly
the universities. They have been able to in many ways increase
opportunity, the diversity of students, and careers, and
degrees that are available now are more. And I think the
discussion about the tipping point is a very valid discussion
for the people of Arizona as to do they want to continue to
expand this growth, or are we going to reach a point where we
begin to shrink?
I want to thank you again. I think that this hearing is
important, Mr. Chairman, as you lead us down the discussion of
the reauthorization of that and Carl Perkins. And I think that
is an opportunity do some collaboration with the private sector
to look at internships and to look at some other partnerships
that we are not doing now.
So with that, thank you so much. Appreciate your presence
here. And to all the witnesses, thank you. I yield back.
Chairman Kline. Thank you. I want to thank the witnesses
for really great testimony, great discussion. As you could tell
by the way we were going through this, we are looking at
reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, and we want to, in that
process we want to make sure that we are addressing some of the
issues of accreditation that were raised here today,
innovation, and making sure that colleges and universities,
whether they are for-profit, not-for-profit, land grant, and so
forth, have the ability to be responsive, and adaptive, and
meet the needs as they see them developing. And it has been our
observation that in some cases that has proven to be very hard
to do because of federal law and regulation.
So I thank the witnesses for shedding some light on that.
And I must say that perhaps secondly to the fine colleges and
universities in Minnesota, I have been very impressed with what
I have seen here in Arizona.
There no being no further business, the committee stands
adjourned.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Additional Submissions by Mr. Lambert follow:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
[Whereupon, at 1:56 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[all]