The University of Minnesota regents on Friday gave their approval to the five measures to which 1 percent of their state funding in fiscal year 2013 will be tied. To get the money, the university must meet three of the five goals set by the Legislature. President Eric Kaler said he's confident the U will accomplish all five.
The U must:
- Increase institutional financial aid so that it is greater in fiscal year 2012 than in 2010
- Produce at least 13,500 total degress on all five campuses in 2012
- Increase four- and six-year graduation rates on the Twin Cities campus
- Produce more in research and development expenditures in 2012 as reported to the National Science Foundation
- Increase sponsored funding from business and industry
As I wrote in Saturday's article, four regents voted against the resolution. They were Maureen Ramirez, Dr. Patricia Simmons, David Larson and Venora Hung.
They were concerned that by allowing legislators to dictate the university's direction, they'd be ceding the autonomy given to the U in the state Constitution. Several others noted that they've long been supplying the Legislature with a book's worth of data, including the measures on which legislators plan to judge the U's performance.
"These particular performance metrics have already been drivers of the university for years," Regent Rick Beeson said.
Meanwhile, former legislators Steve Sviggum and Laura Brod, who were elected to the Board of Regents last spring, argued that adopting these measures would be an opportunity to strengthen a shaky relationship with the Legislature.
Here are a few quotes from all sides:
Laura Brod:
