According to this Associated Press report Director of Internal Audit and Risk Assessment Bill Eggert – the guy whose audit report uncovered hundreds of phony diplomas at Dickinson State and who more recently rejected accusations of cooked data aimed at Chancellor Hamid Shirvani – is resigning because he sees his job as being a “dead…
North Dakota Senate Votes For Higher Education Status Quo
The North Dakota Senate today had before it HCR3047 which was introduced by House Majority Leader Al Carlson. In it is original form as passed by the House this amendment would have replaced the Chancellor and the State Board of Higher Education with a Director of the Department of Higher Education appointed to three-year terms…
House Readies For "Dog Fight" Over Amendments Reducing Higher Ed Budget Increase
Legislators are expecting some blood to be left on the floor tomorrow over amendments to higher ed budgets that one legislator told me is sure to set off a “dog fight.” What’s frustrating is that the fight in question is over what is really a modest reduction in spending growth on higher education. At the…
North Dakota Professor Salaries Lagging According To Association Of Professors
According to the American Association of University Professors, professor pay at North Dakota’s top two universities ranks in the bottom 20% of the nation. Of course, groups such as the AAUP love to bully states into raising professor pay with these sort of “national average” statistics. Because the national average is the national average. The…
North Dakota's Universities Are A "Good Deal" Only In The Context Of A Lot Of Bad Deals
I had to chuckle at this Grand Forks Herald article taking aim at critics of tuition growth at North Dakota’s two largest universities, the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University. “Stats show N.D., Minnesota schools still a good deal,” reads the headline. But a “good deal” is a relative term. Let’s look…
North Dakota University Employee Accuses Shirvani Of Cooking Data
A North Dakota University System employee is accusing embattled Chancellor Hamid Shirvani of asking her to manipulate data set to be presented to a legislative committee tomorrow. But the accusation has more to do with muddying the waters around what are some very, very ugly performance numbers for the state’s universities than anything Shirvani has…
Now That The Board Has Voted, Will The Campaign Against Chancellor Shirvani Stop?
Though it was passed during a contentious meeting, and though the vote wasn’t unanimous, the State Board of Higher Education issued a resolution expressing confidence in embattled Chancellor Hamid Shirvani. Meanwhile, in the legislature, the state Senate has already passed an appropriation authorizing a buyout of Shirvani’s contract (a de facto vote of no confidence),…
Shirvani: Some University Presidents Are Part Of North Dakota's Higher Ed Problem
Chancellor Hamid Shirvani fired back a bit at some of his critics on Chris Berg’s show last night, responding to a letter from six former North Dakota university presidents. “These past presidents could be part of the problem in our system,” said Shirvani. “We don’t have a unified system.” Clearly a reference to some current…
Cost Of Stipends And Waivers To Full-Time North Dakota College Students: $1,684
This week North Dakota’s universities will testify before the House Education Committee, chaired by outspoken higher education critic Rep. Bob Skarphol (R-Tioga). The civil war between the university presidents and Chancellor Hamid Shirvani has dominated the discussion over higher ed this legislative session, but looking at the information Rep. Skarphol asked the university presidents to…
Resolution To Replace Board Of Higher Education Advances In State House
The North Dakota Senate took up three of the resolutions to reform the university system today. HCR3008, introduced by Rep. Mark Dosch, would have stripped mention of the state universities out of the state constitution, allowing them to be closed through statute if the legislature decides it. That bill failed by a surprisingly narrow 45-47…