League of Women Voters Recommendations for USM

USM should be a major center for graduate education in Maine. That's one of many recommendations included in a two-year study of the University of Maine System, conducted by the League of Women Voters of Maine. League members, who conducted 222 interviews and visited all seven campuses as well as several university outreach centers, released the report at a State House news conference held last month.

Orono-based graduate programs "should continue to flourish," the report states, but "The economic development of Maine requires that USM be empowered to develop doctoral programs in such fields as biotechnology, business, social work, information science, and the humanities..." According to the report, "USM needs enhanced library resources, laboratories and other facilities, as well as adequate funding to hire appropriate graduate faculty."

Funding formula
The report also questions the System's "complex and arcane" funding formula, stating, "It is not intuitively obvious why almost half of the university's fiscal resources are allocated to UM which has only 36 percent of the FTE students..." USM has 30 percent of the system's students but only 22 percent of the system's budget. The report calls for a commission "...to overhaul and make more rational and equitable the formula for the allocation of funds among the campuses."

Faculty
The report praised faculty throughout the System for their talents and hard work, and recommended a gradual increase in salaries; better support of faculty development; and well-developed policies governing the use of part-time faculty.

Noting the link between research and development, and economic development, the report advocates continued legislative support of R&D at USM and UM. But the report also recognizes the role of the liberal arts, and recommends that each campus, "no matter what its professional or vocational focus," offer high quality, liberal arts programs.

Legislative relations
The report commends Chancellor Terry MacTaggart and others for the "very real advances" that the System has made in strengthening relations with the Legislature; addressing duplication of programs; codifying the transfer of credits; and taking steps toward more equitable funding among campuses. The current UMS structure should be retained, states the report.

Other
Included among other recommendations are: increased library funding that supports undergraduate and graduate funding at USM and UM; and tuition and financial aid that's in line with Maine income levels.

The report terms the System "a critical educational and economic asset to the State" that must be supported, and warns, "the only thing more expensive than maintaining a quality university system is not maintaining a quality university system."

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