by Katie O'Dowd / Staff writer

Virginia Tech, the College of William & Mary and the University of Virginia may become chartered universities, which would change the status of these universities from state agencies to public entities.

There are no current plans to include JMU in the Chartered Universities Initiative.

"The charter legislation would define the new category of institutions as political subdivisions of the state, much like cities and counties," JMU President Linwood Rose said.

Chartered schools would act as semi-public, semi-private universities. This change would give the universities new freedoms and flexibilities in terms of tuition, funding and state regulation.

In terms of disadvantages, if JMU were to become a chartered school, it would have to expand its administrative staff "to properly manage university affairs without state involvement," Rose said. The three universities proposing the legislation have larger staffs committed to these functions.

Under this new proposal, the chartered universities would be allowed to operate with state funding, but could raise tuition, according to Student Body President Tom Culligan.

Virginia’s public universities and colleges face many challenges ranging from insufficient faculty salaries to the lack of financial aid. The Chartered Universities Initiative is "one component of a broader reform agenda that not only will strengthen all universities and colleges, but also will extend to more Virginians than ever before affordable access to post-high school education," according to the College of William & Mary. Schools not listed in the legislation would continue to operate under current regulations and oversight.

Culligan said, "I personally don’t think this proposal in its current form would benefit JMU. If it something is [implemented], it should benefit all schools.

"My biggest concern is the funding discrepancies," he added. "I don’t want to see the other three schools funded at levels that other schools can’t afford."

Junior Beth Rudolph, director of government relations for the SGA, is following the charter school bill alongside Culligan. "There are aspects of the bill that are wonderful and aspects that are not best for all the universities in the state," Rudolph said.

The primary benefits of the bill to the charter schools are "greater independence in setting tuition and fees, exemption from state policies and procedures regarding personnel management, procurement of goods and services and capital outlay construction," Rose said.