SSTI Digest

Based on the two versions of the FY 2007 budget working their ways respectively through the House and Senate, the National Science Foundation (NSF) appears to be positioned to receive its first significant increase in funding in many years. Both chambers' versions of the NSF appropriations provide increases above the FY06 appropriations in excess of 7 percent, with the full House approving an increase of 7.9 percent in June. The version approved last Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee provides a 7.4 percent increase to the nation's leading agency for science. Much of the increase is consistent with the President's request to support his American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).



NSF's appropriations are included in H.R. 5672, the Commerce-Justice-Science bill. More information is available at: http://thomas.loc.gov

Last week, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley signed the budget agreement passed by the state's General Assembly for fiscal years 2006-07. The budget contains many adjustments favoring K-12 and higher education and several allocations for technology-based growth initiatives.



Education received the most attention in the General Assembly's negotiations. The largest new allocation in the budget is $664.1 million for a 5.5 percent raise among most state workers. Public school teachers will receive an average 8 percent raise, while community college and university faculty will get 6 percent with a one-time 2 percent bonus for community college faculty and staff. The higher ed pay raises, along with $79 million for new professors and staff, are intended to attract high-quality faculty and meet projected enrollment increases at North Carolina universities.

It caught the attention of quite a few people when it was first proposed in early 2001, but Maine's investment in 2002 to provide every seventh and eighth grader with a new laptop - approximately 32,000 students and 4,000 teachers - continues to provide a useful example of the size and type of commitment and risk that elected leaders have to be willing to make to transform the outlook for a state or regional economy. It took strong leadership and determination from then-Gov. Angus King to make it happen then, but the move very quickly was recognized as a good investment for the state's future (see 2004 evaluation report).

The Department of Education's Committee on the Future of Higher Education has released a second draft of its report on the state of American colleges and universities. As reported in the July 10 issue of the Digest, the document originally released by the committee harshly criticized the U.S. higher education system for wasteful spending, lack of academic rigor, and failure to serve the needs of the national economy. The newest draft softens the critical tone of the report but retains most of the original recommendations, according to an article in Tuesday's Inside Higher Ed.



David Ward, president of the American Council on Education (ACE), noted in a message to ACE members that the updated version contains improvements in both tone and content. Ward also said that the changes indicate a willingness on the part of the commission to develop a constructive set of proposals for the education community.

While much of the attention in the national dialogue on competitiveness and innovation has focused on federal R&D investments and science and tech education, a 62-year-old independent organization of business and education leaders says our attention should be much earlier in the education process. A new report by the Committee on Economic Development (CED) asserts economic development leaders should make quality preschools a top priority. The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation presents a convincing case for expanding state and federal pre-kindergarten programs to encourage economic growth.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a leading IT and innovation policy think tank, is seeking an IT policy analyst. Candidates should have excellent research and writing skills; knowledge of IT, telecommunications and Internet policy; at least two years of experience with these policy issues; a bachelors degree; and, ideally, a masters degree. Direct resumes to mail@innovationpolicy.org. A complete description of this position opening is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.