2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

MHEC Goal 5: Promote economic growth and vitality through the advancement of research and
the development of a highly qualified workforce;
MFR Goal 1: Create and maintain a well-educated workforce;
MFR Goal 2: Promote economic development in Maryland.
UMUC’s main contribution to the economic growth of the State is through the critical role it
plays in developing a highly qualified workforce: providing access to higher education to
working adults. Seventy-five percent of our undergraduates work full-time (half of them in
Maryland); 69% are married or in a committed relationship; and 52% have children (a fifth
of them being single parents). Without the access made possible by distance, particularly
online education, it would be very difficult for these students to pursue their education.
A unique feature of UMUC’s education is the use of working professionals as adjunct
faculty. Approximately 2/3 of the University’s adjuncts have full-time jobs outside of the
institution. UMUC recruits practitioners in the fields they teach and believes that the work
relevant teaching contributes singularly to continuing development of the State’s workforce.
Reflecting the growth of the previous ten years, UMUC continues to experience increases in
the number of graduates employed in Maryland (see MFR Objective 1.1). However, since
UMUC must expand nationally to compensate for its limited state support, we expect this
proportion to decline in the future. Likewise, the downsizing of the information technology
industry caused a decline in information technology enrollments. Therefore, we expect a
decline in the percent of graduates from IT programs employed in Maryland (see MFR
Objective 1.2).
Recent UMUC graduates continue to report high satisfaction with their preparation for
graduate school and the workplace (see MFR Objectives 1.5 and1.6).
The median salary of UMUC graduates continues to be relatively high, partly as a result of
the higher age and work experience of the University’s typical student (see MFR Objective
2.1). Given the current worldwide financial crisis, we expect that the salary of our graduates
may show a decline in the near future.
MFR Goal 4: Maximize the efficient and effective use of state resources;
MFR Goal 5 (unique to UMUC): Broaden access to educational opportunities through online
education.
Since UMUC’s revenues are largely tuition driven (given the low level of State support),
efficient and effective use of resources is critical for the university. Our rate of operating
budget savings has been consistently one of the highest among USM institutions and has
exceeded the minimum prescribed by the USM Regents (2%). In FY 2009, it is expected to
reach $5M (see MFR Objective 4.1). The next section on cost containment provides a
breakdown of the most salient examples of efficiencies achieved by UMUC.
Online technology is considered among the most efficient ways to deliver higher education.
UMUC’s extensive use of online education and adjunct faculty who are practitioners in their
field provide the State with a cost-efficient and almost unlimited capacity to deliver
education. The University continues to increase its worldwide online enrollments (currently
343