Dive Brief:
- Oregon's three biggest state universities are getting more freedom to hire and fire presidents, issue bonds and raise tuition.
- Schools in Texas, Virginia and Florida have also been given more leeway to raise tuition.
- Proponents say that more autonomy lets public universities operate with less red tape and more revenue, but critics worry the big-name public schools could shortcut access and affordability.
Dive Insight:
The report from ProPublica notes: "There's relatively little research on the overall benefits or drawbacks of schools gaining autonomy, but it does appear that such universities often end up resembling private colleges, moving toward "high tuition, high aid" models in which schools hike sticker prices significantly while offering big discounts to students schools are trying to attract.
