Connecticut State Colleges and Universities President Mark Ojakian plans to present a new consolidation plan to the Board of Regents on Thursday. The “Students First” plan would consolidate all 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one accredited institution by 2023. It would save $17 million when fully implemented.
His last plan drew sharp criticism from faculty members and students and was most recently rejected by the Regional Accreditation Commission in April.
Ojakian said the biggest difference with the new plan is the extended timeline. He wants to slowly phase in the changes over the next five years, with the goal of having one single accredited institution by 2023.
If approved by the Board of Regents, the first change students will see is through the application process. It will be one application for all 12 community colleges, as well as one website. It will be the same process for any student enrolling in classes or applying for financial aid. Ojakian said students will have the same experience, if not better when they need help.
“We’ll be able to devote more resources to things like student advisors, student success centers, student tutoring centers that will allow students to not only enroll in school, but stay in school and complete in a timely way,” said Ojakian.
Under the new plan, CSCU would hire three regional presidents in spring 2019 and keep the department chairs in place instead of eliminating them.
The Board of Regents meeting is Thursday, June 21 at 10 a.m.
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If approved, President Ojakian said they will move forward with the consolidation plan and revisit the single accreditation proposal with the Regional Accreditation Commission closer to 2023.
