PHOENIX (By Judd Slivka, Arizona Republic) July 21, 2007 — The group that will prepare a plan for the redesign of the state's university system heard a consultant Tuesday say the system needs to adjust to Arizona's growing population.

"Your strategy for higher education makes a lot of sense for a small state, a small state with lean funding," said David Longanecker, the executive director of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, who has been engaged to serve as a consultant for the study. "It is not a strong system for a fairly large state, which is what you will become."

Tuesday marked the first meeting of the group, which represents the state Board of Regents, all three state universities and three community college districts.

They will split into three subcommittees studying the state's higher education needs and the experiences of other states and creating criteria to evaluate whether the proposed redesign plan will work.

A primary reason to consider the changes is the growth rate of Arizona's high schools. Of all the states in the country, Arizona's projected growth of high school graduates is highest, driven primarily by an expanding Latino population.

On May 23, then-Board of Regents President Chris Herstam and the presidents of the three universities unveiled a proposed redesign that would create two new universities out of existing university system parts. The proposal immediately took fire about not addressing specific concerns, such as the community colleges' role in higher education and whether several of the universities would maintain faculty research.

Until December, the subcommittees will collect data and meet with eight interest groups, ranging from business and economic development leaders to students and faculty. From January to June, the working group will assess the various proposals that have been submitted, hold public hearings and make a recommendation of a redesign plan.

Once the group makes its recommendation, it will be evaluated by Herstam and the university presidents. If approved, it will be forwarded to the Board of Regents to be voted on.

That's the best-case scenario. Even in that scenario, it will be fall 2007 — and more likely fall 2007 — before anything changes.