Stage is set for deliberations on higher education's future

We use the word deliberations in the headline to convey to Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and the Republican leadership in the General Assembly our belief that any reorganization of higher education in Ohio must be handled with care.
The new governor and the legislators have a responsibility to look at all sides of the issue and then make a decision with intellectual honesty and foresight.
There are two bills before the General Assembly that aim to address what Strickland has said are problem areas confronting Ohio's public universities and colleges. Foremost of those is the ever increasing tuition. The governor has made it clear that cost must not be a barrier to higher education.
The bill Strickland and the GOP leaders in the General Assembly support would virtually stand higher education on its head. It provides for the governor to appoint the chancellor, who oversees the universities and colleges. Currently, the chancellor is appointed by the independent board of regents, made up of nine members appointed by the governor.
The board's powers are set out in state law.
Under the bill favored by Strickland, the chancellor would be a cabinet officer, and the board of regents' powers would transfer to the individual. The board would have only advisory responsibilities.
And, most problematic, at least from an open government standpoint, the chancellor's deliberations and decisions could be made behind closed doors. Now, Ohio's open meetings law applies to all activities of the board of regents.
Status quo
The second bill, which is supported by the regents, would retain the status quo with regard to the appointment of the chancellor, but the governor would have approval authority.
As a sign of good faith, the board has tapped former Congressman and state Sen. Eric Fingerhut to the position because he is Strickland's choice.
The regents would retain their current powers and receive additional authority to set tuition, establish, combine or cancel degree programs, establish a statewide community college system, and would have the authority to establish a statewide purchasing system for higher education.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to our recent editorials about the future of higher education that we support the legislation being advocated by the regents.
We strongly endorse the governor's goals of making colleges and universities accessible, getting more students to graduate more often with better grades, increasing the number of research and development projects and defining how higher education can serve Ohio's work force.
But we do not believe it is necessary to perform major surgery on the system to achieve what Strickland has outlined.