Maryland Higher Education Commission

 

Solutions for Maryland’s Future

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Background and Purpose 

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• The American Council on Education, working with several other national higher education associations, is coordinating the "Solutions for Our Future" campaign, a nationwide effort to develop and communicate a compelling message in support of higher education.
   
• Maryland established a "Solutions for Maryland's Future" Steering Committee and Implementation Committee to support this national effort and coordinate a State-focused campaign.
   
• The Maryland campaign will embrace the national message, but will include a Maryland-specific focus within the context of the national campaign.
   
• In an effort to understand the challenges faced by Maryland institutions and to refine campaign messages, the Solutions for Maryland's Future Committee commissioned WB&A to conduct market research among registered voters in Maryland. Specifically, this research was designed to understand public perceptions about higher education in Maryland.
   
• The Solutions for Maryland Steering Committee is comprised of Maryland's higher education segment heads:
  
  Ms. Tina M. Bjarekull, President of the Maryland Independent College and University Association;
  Dr. James E. Lyons, Sr., Secretary of Higher Education;
  Dr. William E. Kirwan, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland;
  Dr. Jane Margaret O'Brien, President of St. Mary's College of Maryland;
  Dr. Earl S. Richardson, President of Morgan State University; and                                      Dr. H. Clay Whitlow, Executive Director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges.
   
• The seventeen-member Implementation Committee includes representatives of Maryland's Higher Education Commission, public universities, community colleges, and independent institutions.

Methodology

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• A telephone survey was conducted among registered voters in Maryland.
   
• A total of 1,106 telephone interviews were conducted between July 24th and August 20th, 2006.
   
• The average survey length was 18 minutes.
   
• These interviews were stratified as follows:
  
  Central Maryland 506
           Baltimore City 101
           Baltimore Area 205
           DC Area 200
  Southern Maryland 200
  Eastern Shore 200
  Western Maryland 200
  TOTAL 1,106
  
   
• The data were weighted to be proportionate to the actual household population by region.
   
• A sample size of 1,106 will yield data that has a maximum fluctuation of ±2.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
   

Key Findings  

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• Maryland voters cite education (specifically primary and secondary education), economic issues and crime/safety as the most important problems or issues facing the State's leaders. Higher education, along with health care/prescription drugs and the environment, are among the second tier of problems or issues facing the State's leaders from the perspective of voters.
   
• Maryland voters rate the overall quality of higher education in the State fairly high and have quite favorable impressions of the colleges and universities in the State.
   
• Maryland voters believe that higher education in the State is generally better now than it was 10 years ago.
   
• Maryland voters rate the State's institutions fairly high for academic quality and reputations, but are more neutral in their ratings of affordability.
   
• Maryland voters see the most important roles of higher education to be teaching students how to think and preparing students for employment.
   
• The students who get degrees, along with society as a whole, are seen as the beneficiaries of higher education by Maryland voters.
   
• Maryland voters perceive that students are bearing a disproportionate responsibility for keeping higher education affordable, while the Federal government should be doing more.
   
• Maryland voters consider government funding for education, be it primary and secondary education or higher education, to be very important.