The tension between DeSantis’ public posturing and NC officials’ influential roles behind the scenes underscores a crucial question for many faculty and other skeptics: whether CPHE will be a non-ideological auditor or become a tool for conservatives to remake higher ed.

A pros and cons document created for President Peter Hans this spring further reveals the role of UNC System officials.

“Currently, we enjoy some free ridership in that Florida is funding the effort, but the group relies on Kelly and Harrison for subject matter expertise.”

In July 2024, the UNC System and AEI, a conservative think tank, convened reps from other states to talk about alternatives to the current model for accreditation at the behest of the NC legislature.

Clemens told Roberts that was the wrong way to think about tenure.

“With all due respect, this argument is incorrect,” Clemens wrote, explaining that it did not consider the value faculty generated over time.

Read the story at the link above.

Clemens continued: "The Chancellor has agreed to this strategy based on a net present cost evaluation of the faculty who receive permanent tenure."

Net present cost is an accounting method used to analyze the lifetime cost of an investment.

“The trustees have decided that they are going to address a pending financial crisis by holding up votes on awarding tenure to faculty,” wrote Chris Clemens in a May 3 message, a few weeks before the trustees delayed tenure votes for the second time.

Following the sudden closure of St. Andrews University, Laurinburg grapples with the fallout and the now-empty campus property at the heart of the community.

For @theassemblync.bsky.social and Border Belt Independent

www.theassemblync.com/education/hi...

St. Andrews’ story offers a cautionary tale for other small towns as more colleges struggle to survive.

Closing a college is not just a heartbreaking process—it’s an exhausting, expensive, & gut-wrenching one that can leave vulnerable people & communities in the lurch.

Our reporting shows that the shock & uncertainty surrounding the school’s quick closure will impact its lasting legacy in Laurinburg.

“There’s even just this mental toll of what it means to just drive by an empty college campus every day,” said Andrew Koricich of App State.

Below is a breakdown of the targeted areas for cuts

Read the full memo here:

northcarolina.edu/wp-content/u...

The trustee-led committees will receive briefings from their chancellor or other senior administrators, including some closed-session meetings about the performance of “relevant” personnel.

In a memo dated June 17 (which was posted on a system website but not announced publicly), 2 BOG members wrote that while campuses made an "initial effort" to comply, the committees will ensure schools demonstrate "meaningful verification that those realignments succeeded."