By Matt Clyburn

Connecticut State University System students in bright green t-shirts again took to the state Capitol last week to lend their support to professors criticizing Goveror Dannel Malloy’s proposal to reorganize the higher education system.

The students and professors were transported to the hearing by the Connecticut State University chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The AAUP also funded food for attendees and fact sheets aimed at highlighting flaws in the plan.

A portion of the reorganization plan would allow the would-be Higher Education Board of Regents to move up to 15 percent of any system’s budget to another system at the board’s discretion.  According to the AAUP’s fact sheet, this aspect of the proposal “has the potential to impact academic programs, creating unpredictability and uncertainty for students, faculty and staff.”

The first to testify before the legislative higher education committee Thursday was Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti, who spoke for more than an hour and fielded questions from committee members. Meotti said that in addition to about $4.3 million in annual savings, the assertion that 15 percent of budgets could be moved at will were false.

Meotti suggested that language in the bill may need to be changed to make the section more clear, noting that “it’s not intended in any way to subject these block grants to any kind of different authority.”

“At it’s heart, this proposal consolidates four boards…and three central offices,” Meotti said. “It’s important to keep in mind that the CSU system… is not located on Woodland Street, the system is found on the sixteen campuses where the faculty, students and leaders of those campuses are.”

Members of the public who were allowed to speak during the public hearing expressed concern that the new structure would make it easier to cut budgets and expand class sizes.

Malloy’s plan is based on the state university system model used in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota acts as an independent entity while the state universities and community colleges operate under a single board of governance.

The University of Connecticut will be unaffected by the plan and remain under normal operations and no schools will be closed or combined. Campuses will still operate under the leadership of their respective presidents and existing leadership structures.

The committee hopes to have a strategic plan ready for July 1 to coordinate with implementation of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2012.