December 2008 Governor's Report from MHEC

January 2009 Press Release

For immediate release: January 1, 2009 Media Contact: Christopher Falkenhagen
Communications: (410) 260-4511

December 2008 Governor's Report from MHEC

• December 1, 2008: Assistant Secretary for Finance Policy and MHEC office of grants attended the Maryland Business Roundtable’s 17th Annual Meeting to discuss students’ recent accomplishments and opportunities they will face in college, the workplace and in life. Discussions were also centered on how to resolve and take action to achieve a high quality workforce, opportunity for Maryland’s students, and to ensure a thriving economy in Maryland.

• December 2, 2008: Office of grants planned Maryland College Access Challenge Grant project director evaluation training session with external evaluator.

• December 2, 2008: Secretary Lyons and Director of Communications participated in a conference call with Dr. Lyons’ colleagues in all 50 states to discuss the “Measuring Up 2008 State Report Card on Higher Education” compiled by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

• December 3, 2008: Secretary Lyons met with University of Maryland College Park President Dr. C.D. Mote and other University officials to discuss a major proposal they plan to implement statewide.

• December 3, 2008: Secretary Lyons met with Delegate John L. Bohanan, Jr., to discuss the upcoming final draft of the Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education. Delegate Bohanan is chair of the Commission.

• December 3, 2008: Secretary Lyons participated in the Historically Black Institution Workgroup meeting.

• December 4, 2008: Secretary Lyons attended the College Savings Plans annual meeting.

• December 5, 2008: Assistant Secretary for Finance Policy attended and participated in the Nursing Education Capacity Initiative Team Meeting. Discussion centered on the Memorandum of Understanding with the Center to Champion Nursing in America; Technical Assistance Update including Oregon Webinar and Visit; Collection of Nursing Data; Action Plan Updates; and NSP II Update.

• December 5, 2008: Assistant Secretary of Planning and Academic Affairs and Communications Director participated in Capital for a Day activities in Ellicott City. Dr. Reid represented Secretary Lyons at the cabinet meeting and subsequent press conference. Visits were made to Lincoln Technical Institute, a private career school located in Columbia, MD, and Howard Community College. Lincoln Tech officials presented a tour of the facility and talked about what workforce needs it provides to its students. At Howard Community College, President Dr. Kathleen Hetherington provided a brief power point presentation about the college’s achievements and budget. A tour of the campus’ main building was conducted.

• December 8, 2008: Secretary Lyons attended the American Council on Education (ACE)/Achieve Conference on Advancing College Readiness.

• December 8, 2008: Assistant Secretary for Finance Policy attended a press conference at the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education with Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon, Baltimore City Public School ECO Dr. Andres Alonso, and members of the business community to announce a major Baltimore City partnership between business, government and higher education at Frederick Douglass High School.

• December 8, 2008: Communications Director and BRAC coordinator worked on providing briefing materials for a press conference announcing Higher Education Investment Fund application grant awardees.

• December 9, 2008: Secretary Lyons attended the Middle States Annual Meeting presentation.

• December 9, 2008: Secretary Lyons attended the Workforce Creation Task Force meeting.

• December 9, 2008: Assistant Secretary for Finance Policy attended and participated in the Task Force to Review Physician Shortages in Rural Areas. Members discussed a survey of the University of Maryland Resident Physicians; the final task report, and next steps.

• December 10, 2008: Secretary Lyons participated in the final official meeting of the Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education.

• December 11, 2008: Secretary Lyons participated as a panelist on educational issues and later BRAC readiness at the Dorchester County 2008 Economic Development Summit in Cambridge.

• December 12, 2008: Secretary Lyons attended luncheon held by the Maryland Association of Private College and Career Schools (MAPCCS). Also, BRAC coordinator took part in a panel discussion on legislative issues.

• December 15, 2008: The Lt. Governor held a press conference with Secretaries Lyons and Edgerley, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, County Executives John Leopold and Jack Johnson and Laurel Mayor Craig Moe, to announce BRAC Zones and awardees of the BRAC Higher Education Investment fund. Sixteen awards were announced at the press conference.

• December 15, 2008: Office of grants met with Maryland State Department of Education representatives to plan GEAR UP/College Prep joint project directors meeting.

• December 16, 2008: Office of grants conducted with external evaluator, mandatory training session for Maryland College Access Challenge Grant program.

• December 17, 2008: BRAC coordinator attended BRAC STAT meeting.

• December 19, 2008: MHEC administrative, finance policy and academic and planning staff members met to discuss updated developments for the 2009 State Plan for Postsecondary Education which will serve as roadmap for the future of Maryland Higher Education for the next five years.

• December 22, 2008: Office of grants participated in Career Fair for Dundalk High School GEAR UP students.

MHEC’s Office of Student Financial Assistance report:

• Office of Student Financial Assistance staff participated in 9 outreach activities for various audiences. The events were held at high schools, post secondary educational institutions and churches.

• New awards under The Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LARP General) were made to 556 new participants. The awards totaled $1,065,436. Awards were made to applicants in the fields of Nursing, Law, Social Work, Teaching, Physical Therapy, Speech Pathology and Nurse Faculty.

• LARP Primary Care Services award letters were sent to 13 physicians that bring health care services to underserved geographic areas and populations of the state. All of the awards were made to cover the next two years provided each physician continues to provide the required service obligation.

• Stage I design for the new MD CAPS (Maryland College Aid Processing System) was completed in December.

• An OSFA staff member attended a Federal Student Aid Workshop sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that focused on new regulations and processing of applications for the upcoming award year. The four-day workshop provided the opportunity for financial aid professionals to participate in many hands-on applications using computer labs and software provided during the conference and to attend sessions on a wide variety of programs and processes that affect the awarding of federal, state and institutional aid.

Private Career Schools report:

Three PCS staff members attended the annual meeting of the Maryland Association of Private Colleges and Career Schools. Secretary Lyons and Assistant Secretary Reid were honored guests. Les Bennett gave a panel presentation.

• Met with/counseled three private career schools regarding various topics.

• Met with/counseled one private career school applicant.

• Performed two site visits for new program reviews.

• Three new programs approved (12/17: Medix School-West, Surgical Technologist; 12/18 Academy of Computer Education, Microsoft Certified IT Professional Administrator; 12/22 Americare School of Allied Health—Silver Spring, IT and Networking Design Certificate).

• Approval of Name Change (Americare School of Allied Health—Silver Spring to American Career Institute, effective 12/30).

• Approval of New Location (1st Realty Academy).

• Participated in on-going activities related to State Plan.

Records from Closed Institutions of Postsecondary Education:

• Responded to 16 requests for transcripts from closed schools and 3 education verification requests

The Maryland Higher Education Commission is a 12-member coordinating board responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public and independent colleges and universities and private career schools. It serves as an advocate for more than 326,000 college students in Maryland, for the State and its needs, and for business and industry in Maryland.

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