Prairie Public NewsRoom
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Chancellor: New admissions policy to help gain Legislative trust

New North Dakota University System Chancellor Ham Shirvani says when he was hired by the state Board of Higher Education, he was told to take the system to a higher level.

And Shirvani says that’s why he’s pushing his new plan for a three-tiered system of higher education, with tougher admission standards to the four-year colleges and research universities.

Some in the University System have raised concerns that his plan was approved too quickly.

"Some people said, 'What's the rush?'" Shirvani told the Bismarck Rotary Club. "The rush is very simple. The State Board of Higher Education and the Legislature did not necessarily have a happy marriage. It was pretty much getting close to a divorce. So I'm trying to bring them together. In order to do that, we had to move quickly and establish trust."

Shirvani says the granting of tuition waivers by some if the state’s colleges and universities got out of hand – and his new plan will limit that. He said five of the campuses used the waivers as a recruiting tool – to the tune of 30-million dollars in lost tuition revenue. He says he doesn’t think cheaper tuition should be the primary tool to attract out of state students.

"Of course I'm supportive of recruiting students from out of state," said Shirvani. "But they have to pay for it. And we should attract students because we have a quality place, and everybody wants to come here."

Shirvani says he wants to limit waivers – so out of state students would have to pay at least 175 percent of in-state tuition. He says that doesn’t include states – like Minnesota– where there are tuition reciprocity agreements.

Shirvani also made another pitch for more compliance staff in the University System office.

"We want to make sure we do a much better job from the Chancellor's office on monitoring and overseeing these campuses," Shirvani said. "Issues like Dickinson State should not happen again, and presidents should not build Taj Mahals."

Dickinson State Universoity was accused of granting degrees to Chinese students – when those students hadn’t completed the coursework. And former NDSU president Joe Chapman was criticized for cost over-runs on the construction of a new President’s house on campus.

Related Content