Jenna Robinson’s latest Martin Center column offers the N.C. General Assembly ideas for improving higher education in the state.

Here in North Carolina, education makes up roughly 40 percent of total state spending. The appropriation for the UNC system alone is nearly $3 billion. With such a large stake in the outcome, legislators are right to focus on efficiency, oversight, and new policies that can improve education for everyone. Here are a few higher education initiatives I hope they take up this year.

Improve Due Process for Students

… Now, the North Carolina General Assembly has the authority and opportunity to protect students’ rights by requiring public colleges and universities to use the stricter “clear and convincing evidence” standard. Lawmakers in at least nine states have already begun the process.

A North Carolina bill that stalled in committee last year provides a blueprint for change. If enacted, the bill would require universities to give accused students “adequate notice including details of the allegations…and copies of all evidence at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.” It would also permit both parties in a case to question and cross-examine witnesses. And it states that the “standard of proof of responsibility for proving sexual misconduct shall not be less than clear and convincing evidence.” Enacting such protections should be a priority in 2018.

Increase Transparency of Public University Foundations

Most of North Carolina’s 16 public universities, and many of its community colleges, have set up private non-profit foundations to act as the fundraising, investment, and publicity arm of the school. UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State’s foundations, which manage the universities’ endowments, both handle more than $1 billion in assets. …

… More transparency is essential to ensure that university foundations are operating lawfully and with their public purpose in mind. Across the country, there have been too many examples of waste and fraud in university foundations to continue allowing them to operate in the dark.