The University of New Mexico must become a “destination university” for top students if it wants to take its place among the nation’s top public research institutions, presidential finalist Robert Frank told UNM audiences at campus forums Monday.
Gradually tightening admission standards, expanding programs that attract top students and partnering with foreign universities all could help UNM compete in an era of lean academic budgets, said Frank, who received three degrees from UNM, including a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1979.
“UNM must commit itself to being a destination university for the best students in the state and the region and the country,” said Frank, who has served as provost at Kent State University in Ohio since 2007.
Instead, UNM has become a “neighborhood university” for local students “and your best and brightest are going off to Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State” and other schools, he told faculty and staff. “It is absolutely essential those students be retained here.”
Branch campuses need to assume a greater role in readying under-prepared students for admission to main campus, he said.
“If UNM wants to be among the best public research universities, it has got to gradually and consistently elevate the quality of the students coming up,” Frank said after a student forum at UNM’s Student Union Building.
The university could help attract top students by expanding its honors program, said Frank, who said he participated in honors programs as a UNM undergraduate. Kent State has also adopted “specialized academies” for small groups of students with the potential to win Rhodes or Truman scholarships.
International students comprise only 5 percent of UNM’s enrollment, offering opportunities to attract more talented students from abroad, possibly by forming partnerships with foreign universities, he said.
Universities need to focus attention on factors that can hinder student success and delay graduation, such as poor undergraduate advisement. Computerized tools could help UNM alleviate bottlenecks that prevent students from enrolling in courses they need for graduation.
The simplest way for universities to save money is to ensure that students graduate within four years, he said. “Retention of students you admit is the single best economic step you can take,” he said.
Frank takes credit for helping raise Kent State’s freshman retention by 6 percentage points to nearly 78 percent during his first three years as provost.
American universities will become increasingly stratified into research and teaching universities over the next five years, Frank predicted. Government research funding for public universities is likely to become “much less generous,” he said.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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