University of Tennessee Chancellor Jimmy Cheek visited the editorial board of the Times Free Press yesterday with energy and optimism, to talk about plans for UT to “move up” academically in national ratings — despite a $56 million reduction in the Tennessee General Assembly’s appropriations for UT through 2011.
Dr. Cheek said UT wants to rise into the “top 25” of American public research universities. UT’s current rating is 52nd in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report.
What are the top-rated institutions? They are the University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Virginia, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The schools with the highest six-year student graduation rates are Virginia, UCLA, UC Berkeley, North Carolina and Michigan.
UT wants more student “retention” — up from 84 percent to 90 percent. It currently has a 59.8 percent graduation rate.
It gets one-third of its funding from tuition, averaging $7,300, with the rest of its funding from such things as taxes, gifts, grants, contracts, related Oak Ridge nuclear operations, and other sources. The actual “cost” per student is $16,100.
(Not incidentally, UT gains about $1 million a year for its academic operations from its athletic department. “Big Orange” football success and other sports are important academically as well as athletically.)
Dr. Cheek said it is important for some students to go to less expensive community colleges, or to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga or other state universities, before feeding into more-expensive UT at Knoxville.
About 4,200 students enter each UT freshman class. Student retention to graduation through four-year courses, plus summer semesters, is important in keeping costs down.
“We have a great university,” Dr. Cheek said. “We need to keep ‘the best and the brightest.’ “
He said about 75 percent of UT graduates stay in Tennessee. That’s a big resource for Tennessee’s general economic success.
Both academic and financial challenges are large for students seeking to earn a university education as a big step up for success in life.
We are fortunate that many fine educators and political leaders, as well as taxpayers, are making constructive efforts to offer many opportunities for our young people.