NH’s Business: Workforce needs must be helped by universities aligning courses with businesses
Updated: 9:06 AM EST Feb 2, 2025
BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. A YEAR AGO JANUARY, A HIGHER EDUCATION TASK FORCE CONVENED BY FORMER GOVERNOR CHRIS SUNUNU MADE SWEEPING RECOMMENDATIONS TO CLOSELY ALIGN NEW HAMPSHIRE’S FOUR YEAR COLLEGES, COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. DUE TO SIGNIFICANT WORKFORCE SHORTAGES ACROSS NEW HAMPSHIRE, AS WELL AS A DOWNWARD TREND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE’S PUBLIC COLLEGE ENROLLMENTS, IT’S A YEAR LATER. SO THE QUESTION IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WITH ME TO WALK THROUGH THIS IS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, ELIZABETH CHILTON, WHO CAME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE FROM WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, WHERE SHE WAS ITS INAUGURAL CHANCELLOR. AND BEFORE THAT, PROVOST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE AND WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. AND I UNDERSTAND YOU’RE A FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT. YES, I AM INDEED ME AND MY FOUR SIBLINGS. MY PARENTS DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO COLLEGE. WELL, HERE ARE SOME RECENT ENROLLMENT NUMBERS WE GOT FROM THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. LET’S PUT THEM UP ON THE SCREEN. AND AS THE AUDIENCE LOOKS AT THEM, LET ME ASK YOU, WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR ENROLLMENT FOR UNH NEXT FALL AND NEXT YEAR? YEAH. WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST, SOME GOOD NEWS. THIS YEAR, OUR ENROLLMENT STAYED LEVEL FROM LAST YEAR. SO THAT’S LOOKING AT A TWO YEAR SNAPSHOT. THE DATA THAT I JUST SAW. SO FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR WE STAYED LEVEL. AND WE HAVE ABOUT 13,000 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. AND WE JUST WANTED THAT’S THE FIRST TIME WE’VE STAYED LEVEL SINCE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. SO WE THINK THAT’S A REALLY GOOD SIGN. OKAY. IT’S A GOOD SIGN. HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THAT TASK FORCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION THAT WERE RECOMMENDED A YEAR AGO. AND LET’S LOOK AT THEM. ALIGN EDUCATION OUTCOMES WITH INDUSTRY NEEDS, SOLICIT EMPLOYER IDEAS TO REIMAGINE EDUCATION TRAINING, DEVELOP SHORT TERM TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS, WHICH I KNOW YOU’VE DONE. GIVE BUSINESSES A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT AND SPECIAL ATTENTION TO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WORKFORCE. ARE THESE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU’RE DOING ALREADY? YES, 100%. I MEAN, REALLY AT ITS CORE, THE WORKING GROUP WAS LOOKING AT WAYS TO HAVE MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE’VE DONE AS A SYSTEM HAS WORKED WITH THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM TO LAUNCH 100 NEW TRANSFER PATHWAYS BETWEEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. WE LAUNCHED THOSE IN DECEMBER, AND WE’RE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING RIGHT NOW AND CONNECTING TO WORKFORCE AND INNOVATION. AND NEW HAMPSHIRE’S ECONOMY IS AT THE VERY TOP OF THE LIST OF PRIORITIES. AND I KNOW A MERGER WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS BEING DISCUSSED BEHIND THE SCENES, BUT THAT IS NOT UP IN FRONT RIGHT NOW. IT’S CERTAINLY NOT ON THE TABLE, ALTHOUGH A LOT OF THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS WERE ABLE TO DO WITHOUT AN ORGANIZATIONAL SAME KIND OF THING. RIGHT. JUST BEFORE YOU ARRIVED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE MADE BY YOUR PREDECESSOR. AND LET’S PUT THAT UP ON THE SCREEN. 114 MILLION OPERATING COST CUTS, 60 STAFF TERMINATED AND 15,520 IN-STATE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. AND AS WE LOOK AT THOSE ACTION, WHAT’S YOUR PROGNOSIS FOR NH GOING FORWARD IN THE NEXT YEAR? IN PARTICULAR, THE TUITION FREEZE? YEAH. WELL GREAT QUESTION. I MEAN, ONE OF THE FIRST ACTIONS THAT I TOOK AS PRESIDENT IS THAT WE HIRED A NEW EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION, ESSENTIALLY A CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. WE HAD NOT HAD A FULL TIME PERMANENT CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. SO ERIN HOWELL IS WORKING WITH ME CLOSELY TO MODEL AND PROJECT OUR FY 26 BUDGET. WE WERE ABLE TO MEET OUR BUDGET TARGET THIS YEAR. YOU KNOW, THE PAST SIX YEARS WE HAVE NOT RAISED TUITION, AND THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE NOT EVEN KEPT UP WITH INFLATION IN TERMS OF OUR EXPENSES. SO WE’RE LOOKING CLOSELY AT WHAT THE STATE APPROPRIATION WILL BE. WE’RE IN THE BUDGET SEASON NOW, AND THAT WILL HELP US FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT WE’RE ABLE TO CONTINUE THAT FREEZE ON IN-STATE TUITION. I THINK IT’S UNLIKELY, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, TO COMPENSATE FOR. SO THE FREEZE WILL DEPEND ON THE APPROPRIATION FROM THE LEGISLATURE, MORE OR LESS. YEAH. I MEAN, LIKE I SAY, I AM I AM NOT OPTIMISTIC THAT WE CAN COMPLETELY FREEZE IT, BUT HOW MUCH WILL WILL FEEL WE CAN RAISE? IT IS PARTLY DEPENDENT ON THAT. AND BRIEFLY YOUR TOP PRIORITY THIS YEAR, MY TOP PRIORITY IS TO LAUNCH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN TO ASK OURSELVES, WHERE DO WE WANT UNH TO BE IN 2030? AND HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT WE’RE SERVING THE STATE AND OUR STUDENTS, ELIZABETH SCHULTZ, PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS, YOU CAN G
NH’s Business: Workforce needs must be helped by universities aligning courses with businesses
Updated: 9:06 AM EST Feb 2, 2025
Dr. Elizabeth Chilton, President of the University of New Hampshire, sits down with Fred Kocher to discuss the progress being made months after a task force recommended aligning NH Universities with industry needs to address enrollment numbers and the workforce.
Dr. Elizabeth Chilton, President of the University of New Hampshire, sits down with Fred Kocher to discuss the progress being made months after a task force recommended aligning NH Universities with industry needs to address enrollment numbers and the workforce.