Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

ADELPHI, MD. ( November 28, 2005) --- The Education Policy Committee of the University System of Maryland (USM) will meet in public session on Thursday, December 1 to review the proposed mission statements of the USM institutions. The meeting begins at 9:00 am in the Chancellor's Conference Room of the Elkins Building at 3300 Metzerott Road, Adelphi.

The mission statements of USM institutions must reflect the goals established by the Board of Regents and Chancellor William Kirwan: to provide access, affordability, diversity, and quality education to all Marylanders. The mission statements must also reflect the mandate of the Maryland Charter for Higher Education, which states that USM "....achieve and sustain national eminence with each component fulfilling a distinct and complementary mission. " Maryland law requires all public institutions update their mission statements every five years.

For the majority of institutions, the core mission statements remain unchanged. The two exceptions are at the University of Baltimore (UB), and the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). UB, where the majority of undergraduate students are now juniors and seniors, is seeking to provide a four year undergraduate program. . The concept has already been approved by the Board of Regents, although no action has yet been taken. UMUC, the state's leader in distance education since the 1940's, is hoping to be designated "Maryland's Open University", a move already approved by the Maryland legislature. The designation will make official what has always been policy at UMUC - that any student who is qualified will not be turned away. And for the first time, the committee will review the mission statements of USM's two regional higher education centers, the Universities at Shady Grove, and the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown.

The meeting is scheduled to last the entire day, so that the President or designee of each institution has enough time to clearly articulate the focus, direction, and goals for their particular institution, as well as respond to concerns and questions from the Committee. Following the meeting, the committee will decide whether to recommend the mission statements to the full Board of Regents, which will vote on the recommendations at the December 9^th meeting.

Full agendas and background material will be available at the meeting, and the full agenda will be available at /usm/regents/Agendas/index.html

Contact: Liz O'Neill

301.445.2719
E-mail: loneill@usmd.edu