Sweet backs idea to give regents elimination OK

The Board of Regents is asking for more control over higher education.
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
YOUNGSTOWN -- The president of Youngstown State University thinks the Ohio Board of Regents' push for the authority to eliminate duplicated degree programs in Ohio's colleges is a good idea.
Dr. David Sweet, YSU president, pointed out the regents always have had the authority to approve new programs, and he never understood why they didn't also have the authority to eliminate programs.
"I think it's a good idea," he said. There is a competitive environment among institutions, and some degrees have been cut, but more could be cut if done in a constructive, controlled fashion, he added.
Elimination of duplicated programs makes sense at the doctoral and perhaps master's degree levels but less sense with undergraduate-degree level programs that offer so many different areas of focus, Sweet said.
The regents already have the power to withdraw state funding from degree programs they deem duplicate one another too much.
But the board says universities are simply finding other sources of funding, and regents must have the ability to close down the programs permanently.
The state's higher education board also proposed that lawmakers give it more power to set tuition rates for public institutions.
How it's done
Currently, individual trustee boards at universities set tuition rates. The regents want the ability to set tuition ranges, giving them more say in how much universities charge students to go to college.
Sweet said he doesn't think the tuition issue will affect YSU as it is already the lowest-cost, comprehensive public university in the state.
The regents also proposed letting the governor appoint the state's higher education chancellor, then allow the chancellor to serve at the pleasure of the regents.
If enacted into law, the proposals made to House Speaker Jon Husted would represent significant changes for Ohioans attending four-year colleges and earning advanced degrees in the state.
"These proposed changes are intended to address concerns about Ohio higher education, especially in the areas of affordability, accountability and efficiency," board chairwoman Donna Alvarado said in a statement.
Husted, a Dayton-area Republican, first proposed the idea of giving the governor control over the chancellor's office last month. He continues to back that idea, and is reviewing the other proposals, said Karen Tabor, a Husted spokeswoman.
"He welcomes the ideas of the Ohio Board of Regents into the discussion on higher-ed reform," Tabor said.
Where governor stands
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, also has said he favors the idea of appointing the chancellor, saying he cannot assert the necessary fiscal and quality control over Ohio's system of public colleges and universities unless the chancellor is within his Cabinet. He did not agree with the regents' proposal, however.
"Gov. Strickland has made his position very clear that it's in the best interest of Ohio for him to have the ability to appoint the chancellor and for the chancellor to report directly to the governor," said spokesman Keith Dailey. "This proposal does not meet that standard."
Dailey said the governor is still reviewing the regents' other proposals.
Sweet said he's not sure the regents' proposal to retain control over the chancellor once an appointment is made by the governor is the right approach.
Some combination of control would seem to make sense, particularly in the transition phase of moving the chancellor into the governor's Cabinet, he said, adding that he isn't sure the regents' proposal is the right combination.