On April 17-18, Lindsey Wilson College hosted the regular meeting of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the governor-appointed coordinating board for postsecondary education in Kentucky. Several years ago, CPE members began alternating meetings between the CPE office in Frankfort and college or university campuses throughout Kentucky. Each year, CPE holds one of those meetings on an AIKCU member campus. Meetings have previously been hosted at Georgetown College, Transylvania University, and Berea College.
Council members were welcomed to Lindsey Wilson by President Bill Luckey, who provided an overview of the college’s remarkable growth during his three decades at the Columbia college, dating back to his beginnings as an admissions counselor at the then two-year college. President Luckey emphasized the important role that Lindsey Wilson, like all AIKCU members, plays in the educational, economic, and social well-being of the surrounding community and region as well as in the attainment of CPE’s policy goals. (See President Luckey’s slides.) Council members concluded their day with a campus tour provided by two Lindsey Wilson seniors and dinner.
At the full CPE meeting on Thursday, April 18, AIKCU President Gary S. Cox and VP Mason Dyer made a dual report to the Council. They first reported on AIKCU’s progress towards the sector’s goals under the CPE strategic plan. As a sector, AIKCU members have made strong progress in most targeted areas and have already exceeded goals in the areas of KCTCS transfers and STEM+H degree production.
See the full accountability presentation:
Cox also provided an update on the overall health of the independent college sector and made recommendations to the Council on ways that CPE and AIKCU might better work together, as required by state statute.
Statutory annual report:
The CPE meeting in Lindsey Wilson’s Hodge Center boasted a full agenda in addition to AIKCU’s presentation, including reports on college readiness, the institutional progress report from Western Kentucky University, and public institution tuition setting, among other items.
For more highlights from the meeting check out this Storify collection of tweets, slides, and links.