Maryland HBCUs sue the state / *After 15 years, settled /*still duplication of programs

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Roland's been the ONLY one following this

 

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3/25/21
He gives a background of the story, and then the panel begins @4:39


Roland speaks with Dr.Jenkins(Coppin State) ,Dr. Anderson(UMES), and Delegate Sydnor (D)

 

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Law firm that won settlement in Md. HBCU case donating $12.5 million in fees

Michael D. Jones


November 19, 2021

The law firm that represented Maryland’s historically Black universities in a long-running lawsuit against the state is donating $12.5 million to colleges and nonprofits from the fees it was awarded when the case settled.


The Kirkland & Ellis law firm, led by attorney Michael D. Jones, represented alumni and supporters of Maryland’s historically Black colleges and universities as they challenged systemic underfunding of the schools by the state govt,

As part of the settlement, the state agreed to pay $22 million in legal fees and costs, with $12.5 million going to Kirkland & Ellis. The remainder went to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, which also provided legal representation for plaintiffs in the lawsuit.



Kirkland & Ellis is now sending all of the money it received back into the community because it took the lawsuit on a pro bono, or charitable, basis.

“So many of us became lawyers to fight injustice and give our clients a fair shake not only in the courtroom, but also in society. This case has allowed me, and my colleagues, to do just that,” Jones said in a statement. “I’m gratified by this entire experience, including knowing that this donation will go directly to helping future lawyers gain valuable experience and to fight for justice for others.”

The donations include:

●$5 million to the Dillard University’s Center for Racial Justice in New Orleans to create an endowment that will fund paid internships for students at civil rights and public interest organizations.

●$3 million to Morgan State University’s Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights in Education to fund the center’s racial justice initiatives and fellowships for students.

●$2 million for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law to establish a fellowship program for students including those studying law at HBCUs.

●$1 million to the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education for fellowships and internships, particularly on Capitol Hill.

●$600,000 to Howard University’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center.

●$600,000 to the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education, which is the group that brought the HBCU lawsuit in Maryland.

●$250,000 to the African Methodist Episcopal Church Second District for advocacy work and scholarships for HBCU students.

 

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Gov. Wes Moore appoints a nearly entire new membership for Maryland Higher Education Commission​

July 18, 2023

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced Monday the appointments of former college presidents, educators and nonprofit leaders to the state’s Higher Education Commission, nearly turning over the entire membership of the panel that oversees statewide higher education policies.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission is the state’s higher education regulatory and coordinating board, responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public and private colleges and universities, as well as for the for-profit career schools. The commission also administers $130 million in financial assistance to more than 65,000 Maryland students each year.

The commission consists of twelve members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member is a student, serving a one-year term; all other members are appointed for five-year terms

The governor appointed Catherine “Cassie” Motz, executive director of the CollegeBound Foundation in Baltimore, to serve as chair.
Six other new appointees to the board are: Charlene Mickens Dukes, former president of Prince George’s Community College; Chike Aguh, a senior fellow at Northeastern University’s Burnes Center for Social Change and former chief innovation officer at the U.S. Department of Labor; Sheila Thompson, former national research coordinator with the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study; Mickey L. Burnim, former president of Bowie State University; Janet Wormack, former vice president for administration and finance at Salisbury University; and Tanya Johnson, a student commissioner who attends Morgan State University.
An eighth person, Rebecca Taber Staeheline, was appointed by Moore and confirmed by the Senate earlier this year.
According to the governor’s office, Taber Staeheline will serve the remainder of a five-year term through June 30, 2026, after former State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon resigned. Dukes will serve the remaining term that began July 1, 2022, for former commissioner James Coleman

 

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HBCU advocacy group wants new MHEC members to intervene on program duplication controversy - Maryland Matters

New members with the Maryland Higher Education Commission participated in their first meeting. HBCU advocates request they suspend an academic program recently approved by outgoing commissioners.

www.marylandmatters.org

HBCU advocacy group wants new MHEC members to intervene on program duplication controversy​

August 10, 2023

As a new majority of members on the Maryland Higher Education Commission convened for the first time Wednesday, a group of HBCU advocates wrote a letter to the panel, urging them to suspend approval for a new business degree at Towson University.

The protest comes after the president of Morgan State University, David K. Wilson, argued that the new Towson program duplicates an existing doctoral degree program at his university, an issue at the heart of longstanding concerns about state investment in historically Black colleges and universities.

“We respectfully request that the new members of MHEC immediately suspend the recent approval of Towson University’s business analytics administration doctoral program pending further review and that MHEC instruct Towson University to temporarily suspend that program, pending further notice,” Sharon Blake, spokesperson for the HBCU Advocates, wrote in the letter sent Wednesday to new board chair Catherine “Cassie” Motz.

“The Advocates respectfully request that MHEC schedule promptly a full, 12-member Commission meeting, open to the public, in order to review this matter…more comprehensibly and more in-depth.”
The group plans to hold a press conference soon to address the topic and also encourage state lawmakers to intervene.

 

[Voice of Reason]

This is why Black folks need to control state governments.

 

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Maryland AG’s office rejects education commission’s approval of similar degrees at Morgan State, Towson​

Aug 17, 2023



The Maryland Higher Education Commission’s decision to approve a degree program at Towson University that is similar to one at Morgan State University did not have legal standing, according to the Maryland attorney general’s office.
Morgan State is a historically Black school, and some argue that the commission’s approval falls into Maryland’s history of allowing duplicative programs that have brought harm to historically Black colleges and universities.

The higher education commission asked Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown for guidance. The office responded Thursday that there were not enough votes for the Towson approval to pass. Seven out of 12 commissioners were present for the vote, which split 4-3.
“From a legal standpoint, it is as if the Commission had not yet voted at all,” wrote Patrick B. Hughes, the office’s chief counsel for opinions and advice. “Thus, to comply with the obligation imposed on itself by its regulations, the Commission is likely required to meet again to attempt to reach a decision, one way or the other, with the necessary number of votes.”

A legislative work group focused on assessing the higher education commission’s degree program approval process started work this week, though it precedes the Morgan State and Towson conflict, as it came from the most recent legislative session. The group is tasked with issuing a report by Dec. 1 that will be used to inform future legislation.

University System of Maryland said in a statement the voting process at Maryland Higher Education Commission was flawed, and the system fully supports the work group in improving the commission’s academic approval process.

 

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Education commission considers whether to approve Stevenson University degree program similar to ones at UMES, UMB​

: Sep 13, 2023




The University of Maryland, Eastern Shore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore are protesting the creation of another doctoral physical therapy degree that they say is duplicative of their programs

The Maryland Higher Education Commission, which oversees all of the state’s colleges and universities, held a hearing Wednesday on whether to approve Stevenson University’s proposal for the physical therapy doctorate. The commission will share its decision via a letter within 10 business days, per Commission Chair Cassie Motz.


Last week, UMES, a historically Black university, and UMB submitted similar arguments against another proposed degree program at the Johns Hopkins University. The commission has yet to release its decision on whether it will approve the proposal.

This is the third time in recent months that one of Maryland’s historically Black university has argued against a fellow university’s program proposal on the grounds of duplication. Morgan State University challenged Towson University for pitching an “unreasonably duplicative” doctoral business program. Last month, Towson rescinded its proposal but said it plans to resubmit in the future.

Last month, a legislative work group focused on assessing the higher education commission’s degree approval process began producing a report, due Dec. 1. This group’s role partly stems from a 2021 settlement in which Maryland agreed to pay its four HBCUs $577 million. The state allowed nearby predominantly white institutions to copy degree programs, putting the HBCUs at a disadvantage, the court determined.
The commission asked universities to undergo a voluntary pause on program proposals until the approval process is reformed.


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Should Stevenson’s proposal be approved, it would not enroll students until around 2028 and would cap student cohorts at 25 to avoid causing harm to fellow programs, Stevenson officials said. They said they would only plan to hire seven faculty members over a six-year period.

Emily A. A. Dow, the higher education commission’s assistant secretary for academic affairs, argued Wednesday that even though Stevenson’s proposed degree program is duplicative, market demand and institutional differences make it appropriate for approval.

Stevenson is a private, liberal arts institution in Baltimore County compared to the public UMES and UB, and there are 37 similar degree programs in neighboring states. An additional Maryland program would help the state compete for students, Dow said.

 

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Md. commission overturns approval for contested programs at Hopkins, Stevenson​

September 22, 2023


The Maryland Higher Education Commission has rejected proposed doctoral programs at Johns Hopkins University and Stevenson University amid objections from two schools, including one of the state’s historically Black institutions.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, an HBCU, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, both contested the proposals for doctor of physical therapy programs, saying they would be “unreasonably duplicative” and harm the schools and their students.
The commission’s votes overturned previous approvals from Emily Dow, assistant secretary for the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
“While we had hoped for a different outcome, we respect the commission’s decision. Going forward, we will continue to work with our higher education colleagues throughout the state to support Maryland’s students,” John Buettner, vice president for marketing and digital communications at Stevenson, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Johns Hopkins did not respond to an email request for comment in time for the publication of this article.
Decisions from the commission are final and cannot be appealed, according to letters sent to university presidents at Johns Hopkins, Stevenson, UMES and UMB.

As private institutions, Johns Hopkins and Stevenson can still move forward with their proposed programs, but doing so could jeopardize their funding from the state legislature. Public schools cannot implement a program without the commission’s approval.
The commission’s vote on Stevenson’s proposal was a “re-do” of an April vote, in which members also denied approval for the program.
Commission Chair Catherine “Cassie” Motz has said the revote was prompted by recent guidance from the Office of the Attorney General, which stated that a formal action requires a vote of a majority of the commission rather than just a majority of those present.
The commission has 11 members and one vacancy, as state law allows for 12. At least six votes are required for the commission to take a formal action, according to the attorney general’s guidance.
The commission didn’t reach the threshold when it denied approval for Stevenson’s program in April, so that vote was of no legal effect, Motz said.
The Office of the Attorney General issued the guidance after the commission voted with seven members present to approve a contested Towson University program. Towson has since withdrawn its proposal.
With nine commissioners present for last week’s closed-session revote on Stevenson’s proposal, seven voted against approval, one voted for it and one abstained.

The commission determined that Stevenson’s proposed program would have been unreasonably duplicative of offerings at UMES and UMB and would have caused demonstrable harm, particularly to the institutions’ ability to secure clinical placements necessary for students to complete their programs.

Of the eight commissioners present for the closed-session vote on Johns Hopkins’s proposal, six voted against approval and two voted for it. The commission ruled that the program would have hindered faculty recruitment and clinical site placement at UMES and UMB.
The two commissioners who voted for approving Johns Hopkins’s proposal, including Motz, argued that the school’s pledge to provide clinical placements in its own health system — The Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. — for all physical therapy doctoral students would’ve prevented harm to UMES and UMB.

The dissenting commissioners also felt that Johns Hopkins’s program would’ve attracted students from outside the state and boosted Maryland’s standing in the physical therapy field. They argued that Pennsylvania, with 21 doctor of physical therapy programs, and Virginia, with 10, have a market advantage.
State lawmakers, university presidents, program directors and Maryland’s top higher education official, Secretary Sanjay Rai, have been tasked with recommending ways for the state to reform how it reviews degree program proposals.
Motz has said that, to improve, the state must ensure that prospective students have “as many 21st century, cutting-edge programs available to them in Maryland as possible.”

She said the commission should help colleges and universities increase their program offerings to better compete with neighboring states, while still honoring a $577 million settlement awarded to historically Black colleges and universities, which concluded a 15-year lawsuit alleging the state underfunded its four HBCUs for decades. Maryland is a net exporter of college-bound high school graduates, and in 2020 the number of students who left the state to pursue a higher education was more than double the number of students who went to the state, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The legislative work group is expected to issue its recommendations in December.

Until then, there will likely be a break from review hearings, which follows a memo from Motz and Rai that called for schools to take a voluntary pause on any degree program proposals to which another institution has objected.

 

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Md. universities, lawmakers look to avoid program duplication, honor HBCU settlement​

January 19, 2024


University leaders and state lawmakers have called for the legislature to require public deliberations and decisions for contested academic program proposals to keep Maryland in line with a recent settlement for underfunding HBCUs for decades.

In a set of roughly two dozen recommendations approved Friday, a work group of school leaders and lawmakers also pushed for the Maryland Higher Education Commission, which establishes statewide policies for public and private colleges and universities, to clean up and regulate the program approval process.

Maryland’s process came under scrutiny from the Office of the Attorney General earlier this year, and one of the state’s historically Black colleges and universities and its allies in the legislature have questioned whether the process has aligned with a 2021 settlement in which the state agreed to pay $577 million to end a 15-year lawsuit alleging the state underfunded its four HBCUs for decades.


The work group — led by state Sen. Nancy King and Del. Stephanie Smith, both Democrats — also recommended that, beginning in 2025, the state review academic programs approved in the last four years over the objection of a HBCU to determine whether the program hindered funding or enrollment at the HBCU.

The powerful, 66-member Legislative Black Caucus has been especially concerned about the way in which MHEC has voted on contested academic programs. The commission has met in closed session for discussions and decisions and required a majority vote of those present for final actions, rather than a majority vote of the entire commission.

Smith said at a caucus press conference Thursday that she and King will sponsor a bill with the work group’s recommendations and will ensure the state doesn’t approve “unnecessary and duplicative programs at non-HBCUs that are already being provided at HBCUs, consistent with the HBCU supplement.”


The work group, which comprises state lawmakers, university presidents, program directors and MHEC officials, was tasked with rethinking Maryland’s program approval process.

Under its recommendations, each involved institution and the secretary of the commission would maintain a “protected 10 minutes” to present their case in the event that a school appeals approval for a program.

The work group has called for broad collaboration and communication between often-competing schools and recommended that state lawmakers establish a fund from which public colleges and universities can draw to collaborate for new graduate degree programs, helping to pay for shared facilities or transportation, resource sharing and salaries for faculty members who are working together.

MHEC would also have to submit to the legislature an analysis of each public institution of higher education’s role in the state’s broader system and ensure that each school has a clear mission statement to avoid overlapping.

Only a small fraction of new program proposals receive an objection from a competing school, and just a handful of contested programs go to a MHEC vote, according to the Department of Legislative Services.

Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, MHEC received 143 program proposals. Ten received an objection, seven of which were resolved without a hearing.

Three proposals — all facing claims of duplications from one of the state’s HBCUs — went to a hearing and subsequent vote.

MHEC has previously deliberated and voted on such cases in closed-door meetings. After voting, MHEC typically sends a letter with the vote count and an explanation to the involved schools.

After only seven of MHEC’s 11 members where present in August to vote in a closed-door meeting to approve a contested Towson University program, the Office of the Attorney General issued guidance stating that a formal action requires approval from a majority of MHEC members, or six votes.

Towson, which was facing claims of program duplication from Morgan State University, an HBCU, later withdrew its proposal.

Weeks later, MHEC members met in closed session for a “re-do” vote on a contested Stevenson University program facing duplication claims from the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, an HBCU, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

The attorney general’s guidance prompted MHEC to scrap its previous vote in April, in which the decision didn’t include a vote from a majority of members.

MHEC denied Stevenson approval for its program in both its initial vote and its revote

 

[Voice of Reason]

Again this is the power of a Black governor. And I think they have both houses.

If ADOS/FBA has 5 states or even 2 or 3 states where we controlled the governors seat along with the congress we could see things like this happen.