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Higher Education, Commission on
Functions
The Commission on Higher Education was charged with assessing student access to and the standards, performance, financing, and administration of the State University of New York (SUNY), City University of New York (CUNY), and private colleges and universities; the extent to which students were prepared to pursue higher education; how to improve student retention and graduation rates; and how to align the state's economic development objectives with the curriculum and research agendas of SUNY and CUNY institutions.
History
The Commission on Higher Education was established by Governor Eliot L. Spitzer (Executive Order No. 14) in May 2007. The commission, chaired by Hunter Rawlings, President Emeritus, Cornell University, consisted of thirty members appointed by the Governor, including two members appointed upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the Assembly, two upon the recommendation of the Temporary President of the Senate, one upon the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the Assembly, one upon the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the Senate, one member of the faculty of a college or university within SUNY, one member of the faculty of a college or university within CUNY, one SUNY student and one CUNY student. The commission issued a preliminary report to Governor Spitzer in December 2007 and was disbanded shortly after it issued its final report to Governor David A. Paterson in June 2008.
