The College Fix

A new plan to deregulate certain public universities is being promoted by Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Miami University, widely known as a public university with the feel of a private university, could become something of a hybrid between the two if Kasich’s plan moves ahead.

This idea for “charter universities” has been inspired by other states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, which have been on this system for a long time, said David Creamer, vice president for finance and business services at Miami. These states have given universities the chance to improve their current systems’ financial flexibility and also to reduce state regulations.

According to Creamer, the concept of “charter universities” is intended to give additional autonomy to certain public institutions that meet specific requirements. He said the state would no longer be the main form of funding for the university, meaning fewer tax dollars would be spent on colleges.

“I think it would be a form of privatization, but not fully,” Creamer said. “The university would still be public by nature, but operations would be more private.”

Details of the idea have not yet been figured out and no formal proposal has been formed, Creamer said.

If, however, the idea is formally proposed, Creamer said he thinks Miami would be favorably considered.

“We would be interested in understanding the criteria and evaluating the details of the proposal to make a determination,” Creamer said. “But, since there is not a plan, we cannot make any commitments yet.”

Creamer said he does not know the economic expectations of the idea, however, he thinks it would help the budget in the long term.

“It is a mechanism to better enable institutions to be financially stronger,” Creamer said. “Hopefully it would only have positive outcomes to serve students and make the university stronger.”

Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio, said this plan deals more with deregulating public education than with charters.

“The idea is to eliminate or reduce state bureaucracy and how administrators administrate,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of state rules and a lot of issues. This idea is trying to eliminate the bureaucratic red tape.”

This plan would hopefully reduce some of the university’s unnecessary costs, but not necessarily the tuition that the students pay, Johnson said.

“If the reforms eliminate or reduce bureaucracy, there will be more streamline and efficiency and lower costs,” Johnson said. “To some degree if there are any cons to the idea, they would be that it is our responsibility to ensure state universities follow the same rules.”

Both Creamer and Johnson said there is a rumor that Kasich will mention the “charter proposal” in his budget on Tuesday, but Creamer said he would be surprised because he has not heard much about the idea yet.

Jenni Wiener is a campus editor for the Miami Student. She is a contributor to the Student Free Press Association.

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