Corporate takeover of Ed moves in on Oregon universities

[Hannah Bell]

TWO RECENT reports make the case for a radical restructuring of Oregon's public universities. Both of these reports call for increased funding of the state's institutions of higher learning, but there should be no illusions about their real aim--namely, advocating a corporate takeover of public universities as the only way to address budgetary shortfalls in an age of financial crisis...

The Frohnmayer report recommends that the Oregon State Board of Higher Education convert the state's three largest universities into autonomous public corporations (similar to Oregon Health & Science University). This model would empower an unelected governing board to oversee all university operations, set tuition rates and admissions standards, and manage all costs and revenues...

If implemented, these recommendations would undermine the democratic participation of the state legislature as well as citizens, students and faculty in Oregon's public universities and, if similar measures elsewhere offer any indication, lead to a decline in public access, affordability and course offerings...The proposal to remove the legislature's ability to cap tuition has led to sky rocketing tuition wherever this policy has been put in place... And right here in Portland, since Oregon Health & Science University was transformed into a public corporation in 1995, it has become the most expensive public medical school in the U.S. with 20 percent increases in tuition in just the past two years.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/20/corporate-attack-on-education

[C_Lawyer09]

1. C'mon Oregon, resist!

Where are you Wayne Morse?