Public colleges and universities in Virginia now have higher financial and administrative autonomy, but a move by the state’s legislature will make schools more accountable to leaders in Richmond.
On Wednesday, the Va. General Assembly passed amendments to the Higher Education Restructuring Bill, which in its original state would have given the state’s largest schools a high degree of autonomy.
The measures, proposed by Gov. Mark Warner, give public universities more freedom to address issues on a local basis and would benefit individual institutions, said Danita Bowman, legislative assistant for Sen. Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg, who introduced the bill.
Three levels of autonomy will be available to all public higher education institutions, with the level of autonomy depending on the college’s financial strength and ability to manage day-to-day operations.
The new law also requires the colleges to develop six-year plans outlining tuition and fee estimates and enrollment projections and to accept a number of accountability measures, including standards related to accessibility and affordability.
Warner’s amendments retain the basic framework of the original bill but strengthen legislative oversight by requiring all management agreements to be approved by the Va. General Assembly. It also grants employees the choice to remain in the existing state system for public workers or to move to a new personnel system.
Jeffrey Rossman, a University of Virginia professor who helped lead opposition to the original bill, said he supports the current version of the law because it keeps state universities as public institutions.
“It keeps state employees here as state employees,” he said. “It sets goals that a university needs to meet in terms of access and affordability. It also keeps tuition at a price where (a) lower-income family can afford it.”
Rossman said the universities want greater autonomy in deciding when and where to start construction, buy supplies and hire people.
