Stitt wants EOSC and CASC to be more 'aggressive' in talks of partnership

Feb. 9—The Oklahoma Governor's Office said they were happy with the conversations two southeast Oklahoma colleges were having regarding partnerships, but said the governor wants the two schools to be more "aggressive" in their approach.

The statement comes a week after the Eastern Oklahoma State College Board of Regents rejected a proposal from the governor's office that would effectively merge the college with Carl Albert State College in Poteau.

The memorandum of understanding proposed by the governor would have led to a unified Board of Regents, a single president of the college with cabinet-level positions serving the colleges, a unified curriculum, sharing of facility, and the sharing of a single accreditation.

After showing concerns with the proposal, the EOSC Board of Regents passed with a vote of 6-1 their own MOU due to the "merger" language contained in the proposed MOU received from the governor's office.

EOSC Regents have continued to state a merger was never on the table and that the Board would not vote to merge. EOSC Regent Chair Leland Walker said during a Feb. 1 special meeting he was shocked to see the language in the proposed MOU from the governor's office because he believed all parties involved were in agreement of sharing resources and agreed that a merger was not on the table.

Walker said Carl Albert changed their tone during a second meeting and proposed a single board between the two colleges with Walker stating Eastern expressed their "reluctancy to go down that road."

The long-term goals listed in EOSC's MOU states the two colleges would share a unified curriculum on common general education programs, shared staff and faculty where appropriate, and shared services as determined by each college's president.

"The two institutions have a faculty and course sharing agreement, along with Connors State College, that started in the fall of 2021," EOSC said in a statement. "Since that time, EOSC and CASC have shared approximately 40 courses affecting 637 students. To date, existing partnerships between the colleges have saved an estimated $80,000 annually."

Holly Bormann, the Director of Marketing and Communications for Carl Albert State College, said the college has been actively engaged in cultivating educational partnerships with multiple entities.

"These partnerships are strategic priorities for CASC and will evolve to best serve the students and communities in our service area, creating new opportunities for academic success, career readiness, workforce development, and personal growth," Bormann said.

Bormann said the proposal sent by EOSC will be placed on the agenda for consideration by the CASC Board of Regents at the next scheduled meeting, which according to the college's website will be March 26 at their Sallisaw campus.

According to the agenda from CASC's January Board meeting, the agenda listed "consideration and possible action on potential partnerships with other educational institutions." Minutes from the meeting were not available as of Thursday.

When asked about the discussions between the two schools, Stitt spokesperson Abegail Cave said the governor was "happy with the conversations these two schools are having but wants to see a more aggressive approach to collaboration."

"They should be strengthening their partnerships given their proximity," Cave said. "The Governor will keep pushing colleges and universities to be good stewards of taxpayer money and seek out where they can do things more efficiently. "

Gov. Kevin Stitt said in his Feb. 5 State of the State address that he wanted each college and university to "focus on the subjects they are best at and become premier institutions in their area" and that he wanted to see legislation "that incentivizes models that fulfill our state's workforce needs."

"I also want our regents to focus on consolidating colleges and universities that aren't meeting this standard," Stitt said.

In interviews with Oklahoma Voice, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, told Oklahoma Voice they didn't know the details of Stitt's consolidation vision and wanted to hear more about his higher education plans.

McCall told Oklahoma Voice the Oklahoma Legislature typically supports consolidations that are driven by colleges and universities. Some lawmakers may resist proposals to force schools to consolidate, he said.

"If that's the kind of consolidation that the governor is talking about, that has been supported by the Legislature when the consolidation is voluntary," McCall told Oklahoma Voice. "If it's just arbitrarily picking two-year colleges or regional universities, picking winners and losers, that's going to be a legislative fight."