More American public universities are going private
The University of Michigan is considering going private, says the Mackinac Center, a move that is expected to save taxpayer dollars and retain highly qualified professors.
Other states have already considered or enacted similar measures:
South Carolina has given all 13 of its public universities permission to go private.
Colorado is planning to privatise its 4 public universities by 2009.
According to researchers, privatising the University of Michigan would save taxpayers $320 million per year, plus millions more in construction costs. Some argue that total privatisation would make college unaffordable for many. However, observers say:
Over half of the universitys freshman class comes from families with annual incomes over $100,000 per year.
Tuition increases could help low-income students by allowing administrators to set aside more gift aid and discount tuition for them.
The university could sell its hospital, valued at about $600 million, while the Nursing and Kinesiology schools could continue to be taxpayer funded.
Moreover, privatisation would likely enable the university to attract more professionals and prestigious research. Indeed, the University of Michigan, ranked 8th by U.S. News and World Report in 1987, currently ranks 25th.
Source: Lance Wieslak and Michael LaFaive, Privatise the University of Michigan, Viewpoint on Public Issues, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, March 1, 2004.
For text: http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=6313
For more on Privatization http://www.ncpa.org/iss/pri/
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 14 June 2004
Publish date: 23 June 2004
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