NCHEMS 'working' in Ashland

EDITORS NOTE: This week The Parthenon will be looking at the NCHEMS study and the effects it has had in Kentucky in relation to the community and technical college system.

Last Monday, the bill based on the study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) was released.

The bill states that all community and technical colleges in the state would become independently accredited. Other changes made under the bill are alterations in the governance structure, teacher quality and student financial aid.

The state of West Virginia hired the NCHEMS consulting firm last fall, and now their findings could alter the structure of higher education.

In 1997, NCHEMS did a study on higher education in Kentucky. There it also recommended that the community and technical colleges become independent.

Now, two and a half years later, the results of the change are visible and working well, said Angeline Dvorak, president of Ashland Community College.

"The biggest change has been that we are now part of a system that's sole purpose are two year programs," Dvorak said. "And we now have an increased focus on work force development."

When asked what the most difficult adjustment has been with the separation of the community and technical colleges from the University of Kentucky, Dvorak said "Change is difficult for people. The difficulty of two cultures merging - the community college and then the technical school, it's been an adjustment.

"Becoming independent and associated with the technical college system, long term will be beneficial because there is more money in education for work force development," Dvorak said.

NCHEMS is a private nonprofit organization. The Boulder, Colo.-based company was established in 1969. According to its Web site, its mission is to assist colleges and universities to improve management capabilities. Initially, the firm was established to meet the needs of administrators, but since 1980, it has been more active in assisting states and national agencies to develop policy for budgeting, finance, governance, assessment and accountability procedures.

Other states that NCHEMS has worked with include Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota and Kentucky.