STATE U. WITHOUT THE STATE

ASEE Prism, Apr 2004

THREE OF VIRGINIA'S biggest public universities want to go it alone. Sort of. The three schools-Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and the College of William and Mary-want to reduce their dependence on state funding and become semiautonoinons institutions. The move comes after years of budget cutbacks, but ahead of Gov. Mark Warner's plan to hike funding for state schools by $144 million over the next two years. The universities say they're tired of rollercoaster funding and want more control over their destinies. They suggest becoming "commonwealth chartered" schools that would take less money from the state. In return, they want the freedom to disregard state regulations concerning personnel, purchasing, and construction that they say are cumbersome and costly. They also want a free hand in setting tuition increases. The governor would still appoint the members of their governing boards, however. In some respects, the schools want to formalize a de facto trend that's made the state very much a minority stakeholder. At Virginia, for instance, the portion of its budget coming from the state has fallen from 28 to 8 percent since 1985.

Virginia isn't the only state where schools are questioning their traditional relationship with state government. Florida State and the University of Florida are seeking what's essentially a performance-related contract with the state. They'll accept a lower, guaranteed amount from the state in exchange for guaranteeing to educate a certain number of students a year. They'll also be free to set tuitions on their own. In Washington State, a bill may soon pass setting up a pilot program to give performance-related contracts to three schools: a large research university, a four-year regional school, and a community college.

Travis Reindl, director of state policy analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, says the schools are betting that by freeing themselves from state regulations and having the ability to set tuition on their own, they can more than compensate for the lost tax dollars. They want more money, he says, to better compete with private schools for top researchers and students. Wary lawmakers, however, fear tuitions will sky-rocket. All eyes are on Texas which recently gave its schools the freedom to set tuitions on their own.

Reindl says lawmakers arc also leery of losing control over things like applied research and personnel matters. But as cash-strapped as many of them arc, they may find that's a trade-off worth making.