Scott's letter to universities questions focus, job training

Gov. Rick Scott has sent a list of 17 detailed, audit-like questions to Florida's 11 university presidents, challenging them to show what they're doing to prepare graduates for jobs.

It's the latest in a series of moves by Scott pointing toward a proposed revamp of the State University System.

Among Scott's challenges in 2012 is to show he can create jobs and balance the state budget in a flagging economy. Already, state economists are warning of a state revenue shortfall of at least $1.3 billion next year.

His questions to the university presidents focus on both jobs and budget concerns, as he seeks information on how the universities ensure they are meeting employers' needs and how they determine when to end unproductive programs.

One question also targets university employees with high salaries, asking for the job descriptions, total wages, number of courses taught and goals for the 50 highest-paid employees of each university.

Scott sent the letter, which bears his signature, on Thursday, at the end of a week during which he was pummeled by the academic community for suggesting universities needed fewer programs in anthropology and more in science and math.

On Monday, Scott's office added university salaries to his state public salaries database.

Scott has been talking for weeks about change in the State University System. The universities have already seen their budgets cut by more than 25 percent over the past four years, but Scott seems focused on more fundamental changes.

He's circulated copies of a Texas think-tank report called "Seven Breakthrough Solutions," which proposes revamping how professors are paid and awarded tenure, emphasizing large classes and evaluations from students, whom it calls "customers."

And Scott has made the rounds of newspaper editorial board meetings, talking about the importance of programs in what's known as STEM: science, technology, engineering and math.

The governor began his Thursday letter with a brief discussion of the 900,000 people who are out of work in Florida, saying that many university graduates can't find jobs and implying that the problem is with their education.

"Many employers are concerned that university graduates are not equipped with the appropriate writing skills, critical thinking skills, and technical expertise needed to succeed," Scott's letter says.

He gave the presidents until Nov. 15 to answer his questions, adding that he planned to use what he receives to develop his higher education proposals for the upcoming state legislative session.

No one from the governor's office responded to questions about the letter.

Scott's letter focuses heavily on job training, asking for instance, "Do you have measureable goals to meet employers' current needs?"

Several questions focus on writing proficiency and critical thinking skills, though some are not clearly written themselves.

"Do you have measurable goals for each graduate in the areas of writing proficiency and critical thinking? If so, please send them to me with the goals and include the results for the last five to ten years," said one question.

Another question asks, "Do you measure the readiness of new students to succeed at your university? If so, do you measure on a per-incoming-high-school basis? If so, please send me the measurement and the results for the last five to ten years."

Scott sent the letter to each of the 11 university presidents, every member of each university board of trustees and every member of the state university Board of Governors.

The chairwoman on the Board of Governors, Ava Parker, responded to Scott Monday, thanking the governor for his "unending effort for improved student outcomes and stronger public universities."

She said the board was coordinating a response from the universities, noting that the board's annual report on its website included data on several areas highlighted in the letter.

Some faculty members who've seen the letter worry about what it means.

"We are surprised by the tone and contents of the Governor's letter," Greg McColm, spokesman for the USF faculty union, said in an email.

Any discussion should involve several questions, he said. "What is an education for and whom is it for?  Are students to learn areas of knowledge or mastery of skills?  Are they to become proficient workers or good citizens?  Does a university serve the students, their parents, the taxpayers, their future employers, the public interest, or posterity?"

Based on the narrow questions Scott is asking, "we are concerned that this exercise will prove to be at most a distraction, and possibly even a preliminary to hostile action," McColm said.