Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: HB-6403
AN ACT REQUIRING LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR THE MERGER OR
CLOSING OF INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE CONNECTICUT STATE COLLEGES
Title: AND UNIVERSITIES.
Vote Date: 3/11/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: 3/9/2021
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
The Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
To require legislative approval for the closing or merger of Connecticut State Colleges and
Universities.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
None submitted.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Stephen Adair, Professor of Sociology, CCSU:
Submitted written testimony in support. Prof. Adair believes that community colleges are
public assets that belong to and are for the benefit of CT's citizens, and that they need to be
held accountable. He says the Student First plan's promise to save $24 million by cutting
budgets already designed for austerity are "too good to be true." To Prof. Adair, it is clear that
the plan does not fund students first, but administration first, and that the state's investment is
obscured by the system office's funding structure. Were this a regular school in the state, it
would have had to come before the Higher Education and Appropriations committees for
approval. Since the announcement of the plan in 2017, costs have increased from $30.3m to
$69.1m, with modest decreases in office expenditures.
Lois Aim, Director of Educational Technology, Adjunct Professor, Norwalk
Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Aim says, "the Board
of Regents of the CSCU system approved the Students First Consolidation proposal in 2017
with no public notice and no public hearing [and] reports to no one." She says that
taxpayers, and as a taxpayer she, should have a say in BOR, and did until the legislature
gave up oversight in 2011. Since then the BOR and "the revolving door of CSCU presidents
have lurched from one failed scheme after another at a cost of well over $250M of taxpayer
money." The Students First plan will "lead to the demise of quality public higher education in
CT. CT already has pervasive equity issues, and this consolidation will not improve them.
When the consolidation was proposed in 2017, CT Community College did not have the
resources to maintain 12 independently accredited institutions, but by 2019, she says, "Pres.
Ojakian told legislators that 'the primary focus of this is not to save money, saving money is
an important component of it, but it is really about student success number one.' Shouldnt
this abrupt change have raised some red flags and questions about what really was occurring
in this system?" This committee and the legislature must take back control.
SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTE LANGUAGE:
32 fails to act, such recommended merger or closing shall NOT be deemed
33 approved and the BOR shall not seek regional accreditation for a merger that has
not be approved by the general assembly
David Blitz, Professor of Philosophy, CCSU:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Blitz believes the
proposed rules, "are inadequate to prevent precipitous actions by the Board in applying
System Office proposals in Students First." He proposes a series of changes to address
those rules, and an analysis of the language that has been used to justify the BOR's actions.
Maureen Chalmers, President, Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs):
Submitted written testimony in support. "The General Assembly had this power, but it gave it
away. We urge you to reclaim your right to approve any mergers or closings within the CSCU
system. Stakeholders will expect to have a voice with their elected officials"
Francis Coan, Professor of History, Tunxis Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Coan wants lines 32-33
to result in "not approved" if CGA takes no action and adding the clause "that the BOR shall
not seek regional accreditation for a merger that has not been approved by the General
Assembly. If enacted, these changes will restore oversight power to the CGA that was given
away in 2011. "Over the past decade, the BOR has approved various initiatives aimed at
reducing expenses, recruiting and retaining students, and streamlining academic programs
and services the so-called 'Students First' plan is just the latestalbeit the most far-
reachingof these initiatives. None of the previous plans achieved its objectives, and
mounting evidence suggests that Students First will be no more successful."
The consolidation effort, says Prof. Coan, has resulted in multiple failures in HR, IT, and
payroll, at the regional and system level, resulting in disruptions for students, dropped
contracts, and missing pay, as well as doubt from regional accreditor NECHE. Prof. Coan
explains that there is far more work to be completed and the goal of completing it before fall
2023 is unlikely.
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Sally L. Coan, Adjunct Instructor of Biology, Tunxis Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Coan wants lines 32-33
to result in "not approved" if CGA takes no action and adding the clause "that the BOR shall
not seek regional accreditation for a merger that has not been approved by the General
Assembly. Over the last several years, Prof. Coan has watched her local college change as
it is run by a bureaucracy in Hartford, consisting of people that have never taught in a
classroom and view school as a business. This corporate culture is reflected even in position
titles like CEO instead of College President. She is "appalled" that the BOR has no oversight
when taxpayers, students, and college communities are significantly impacted. She
compares this process to a corporate buyout and dismantling for profit and fears the colleges
will lose the aspects that made them desirable.
Dr. Lauren Doninger, LPC, LADC, Professor of Psychology, Faculty Chair of
Faculty/Staff Council, GCC:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Doninger asks that the
bill's language be changed to not approve mergers or closures if CGA does not act, as well
as adding the clause, "that the BOR shall not seek regional accreditation for a merger that
has not been approved by the general assembly." Students, "who are already the most
vulnerable, more than half of whom identify as non-white, are seeing services eroded." These
students are likely to stay in CT and participate in its workforce, but "are being sacrificed in
service of a scheme costing millions and that is overseen by an unelected body." Prof.
Doninger challenges you to point to even one success of the BOR.
Prof. Doninger describes the failures of TAP, HR and IT consolidation (providing complaint
tickets), and the Alignment for Completion of Math & English (ACME). Providing a 40+ page
feedback document from Gateway faculty regarding ACME, Prof. Doninger says "the scale of
disaster for just one policy is foreshadowing." She argues the BOR budgeted
"NOTHING for the work to consolidate 12 colleges" until it received pushback from NECHE,
and that since these are tax dollars being spent, they should not go unchecked.
"Excellent and responsible leadership does not alienate the workforce. These votes of no-
confidence and endless letters to the editor are warning signs that must be heeded. This
tension did not exist when there was a Board of Trustees that had relationships with the
Colleges. A leadership structure that has cultivated such opposition should not continue
without your scrutiny."
You were promised cost savings and avoiding school closures, have received neither, and
students are suffering as a result.
Seth Freeman, Professor of Computer Information Systems, Capital Community
College:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Freeman believes that
his college is being destroyed by the consolidation process. Its culture will be removed, and
all decisions of importance will be made elsewhere. All teachers will teach the curriculum
chosen by and follow the orders of management at One College. The same will be true for
the other state community colleges. Further, he believes the BOR and CSCU Leadership are
misleading you and the public in a long-term plan to disinvest CT's community colleges, and
that you need to stop them. Contrary to what has been promised, schools have lost their
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uniqueness and authority, and savings have come at the price of faculty, staff, and
educational quality. The result is a system that is easier to shut down. Prof. Freeman
recommends that the bill's language be changed to not approve mergers or closures if CGA
does not act, as well as adding the clause, "that the BOR shall not seek regional accreditation
for a merger that has not been approved by the general assembly."
Kathleen Herron, Professor of Mathematics Capital Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support. Prof. Herron is concerned about the Students First
plan. She says that elimination of developmental Math and English courses will not increase
recently criticized success rates, but decrease them, since students will be automatically
placed in college level courses for which they are not prepared. Also, consolidation will
impact students who depend on the close proximity and low cost of community college and
will eliminate the colleges' uniqueness. This comes with "incredibly" rising costs and
collective opposition.
Diba Khan-Bureau, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Engineering Technology, Three
Rivers Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Khan-Bureau say the
community college system was created with legislative oversight and that these legislators
are accountable to voters. The legislature gave up their authority, and therefore system
accountability, in 2011 when creating the BOR and CSCU system. As a result, students
suffer from bloated bureaucracy, costs grow unchecked, and non-experts are making
curriculum and governance decisions, as well as "haphazardly" using resources that would
be better spent on students. She says, "CSCU leaders have misrepresented faculty and staff
support for Students First and consolidation while dismantling our educational system. This is
not a corporation! The Community Colleges were once considered the gems of our
communities." By providing affordable opportunities to students that might not otherwise be
accepted by more expensive institutions, we will see more former community college
students, like herself, succeed. Prof. Khan-Bureau recommends that the bill's language be
changed to not approve mergers or closures if CGA does not act, as well as adding the
clause, "that the BOR shall not seek regional accreditation for a merger that has not been
approved by the general assembly."
Sal Luciano, President Connecticut AFL-CIO:
Submitted written testimony in support.
While the Board of Regents has operational and managerial control of Connecticuts publicly
funded colleges and state universities, it is an appointed body. Proposals to close or merge
campuses or whole institutions will greatly affect students, employees, workforce
development efforts and state and local economies. Decisions like these should not be made
exclusively by politically appointed officials who operate in a myopic bubble with little or no
accountability to taxpayers.
The General Assembly used to have oversight of mergers and closures of higher education
institutions. HB 6403 restores that control. Elected members of the legislature are in tune with
the needs of their constituents and also have a broader view of the states needs, long-term
vision, planning and budgeting. Legislators have the context to understand how a proposed
merger or closure will impact the state overall, not just the Board of Regents balance sheet.
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Connecticut state colleges and universities are public assets that belong to Connecticuts
residents. They should be accountable to the public interest. We urge the Committee to
support this bill.
Lillian Maisfehlt, MLIS Reference & Instruction Librarian, Information Literacy
Coordinator, and Staff Chair of Faculty/Staff Council GCC:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Ms. Maisfehlt says, "I have
been at Gateway for nearly seventeen years, and fortune willing, I intend to remain there until
I retire." This is due to the unique community found at Gateway. The consolidation plan, she
says, "runs counter to the spirit in which I and my colleagues approach our work. The BOR
presents a highly centralized, top-down, management-heavy model in which faculty, staff,
and student voices are distant and muted, if they reach the Regents ear at all.
Community colleges are the institutions of higher learning that do the most for those who
have the least, and they are slowly but inexorably being eroded in Connecticut as the BOR
operates with no oversight or accountability." Ms. Maisfehlt recommends that the bill's
language be changed to not approve mergers or closures if CGA does not act, as well as
adding the clause, "that the BOR shall not seek regional accreditation for a merger that has
not been approved by the general assembly."
Nikki McGary, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, NVCC:
Submitted written testimony in support. Prof. McGary says, "only those who have been
democratically elected should have the power to make such important decisions regarding
our states system of higher education," regardless of support for Student First.
Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D. Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, UCONN:
Submitted written testimony in support with substitute language. Prof. Peters considers
legislative oversight "crucial" to maintaining system integrity. He requests that you extend this
accountability to UCONN in general, and specifically to the UCONN Health Center, with a 2-
year moratorium on any consideration of privatization. Both have been at the center of
Pandemic response, and now is not the time to risk public confidence by entertaining risks of
privatization.
Ron Picard, Professor of English, Faculty Senate President, Naugatuck Valley
Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support. Prof. Picard served the last two years on the System
Office's General Education Consolidation Committee and the Academic and Student Affairs
Students First Consolidation Committee. His purpose in serving, "was to mitigate as much as
possible the disaster that I saw unfolding through this plan." He resigned January 2020 in
frustration as curriculum was rushed through "artificial deadlines without respect to quality or
faculty expertise." "I should not have been surprised," he says, as one model for this merger
was Indiana's IVY Tech system and elaborates on his bad experience teaching under it. He
shares stories of success at NVCC by his father, children, and dozens of community
members. He believes, "The merger plan being sold to you today will put an end to this kind
of local, deeply personal educational experience for current and future students. It is this
highly personal, neighborhood-like approach that allows our students to feel confident and
supported enough to succeed. An impersonal, monolithic corporate institution that would be
one of the largest in the US in one of the smallest states does not serve anyones interests,
and so far it has cost NVCC a president who was a transformative figure not just in education
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and not just in Waterbury, but in every community in our region between Waterbury and
Danbury." Replacing this with corporate bureaucrats is not cheaper, not more efficient, and
does not foster the kind of culture the community deserves.
Prof. Picard recommends that the bill's language be changed to not approve mergers or
closures if CGA does not act, as well as adding the clause, "that the BOR shall not seek
regional accreditation for a merger that has not been approved by the general assembly."
Colena Sesanker, PhD Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Gateway CC:
Submitted written testimony in support. Prof. Sesanker says that the assumption of expertise
is implicit in higher education. Overwhelmingly, she says, our college and university experts
have found "the projects of the BOR-- the most recent and most destructive of which is the
Students First Consolidationto be ill-conceived and poorly led." The plan is a non-sensical
"investment in the reduction of quality" and "a departure from our mission" to aid students and
our communities. This investment was never explicitly approved, she says, as costs have
been obscured while immediate savings were promised; until the 2021 SF Finance report
forced a concession that savings would not appear until 2023. The accreditor NECHE also
questions the plan, she says, citing its August 2020 response. The flexibility that has been
granted to this system, could have been a benefit, but it has been abused, and any savings
claimed are through attrition alone.
Carmen Yiamouyiannis Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Capital Community College:
Submitted written testimony in support. Prof. Yiamouyiannis says, "Over 1400 faculty, staff,
students, and even the past presidents and chancellors signed a petition to stop the
misguided Students First community college consolidation plan." In the 10 years since the
merger of the state colleges and universities, "well over $400 million has been spent for the
system office administration. Those millions have not put teachers in classrooms, have not
provided direct student services, and have not lowered the cost of tuition for students Over
the many years, we have been denied permission to replace faculty who have retired due to
lack of funding." While 72