Charter bill revised, passed

A bill that would give Virginia universities more control over their own operations and finances was passed in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates.

The bill originally was regarding the idea of allowing charter schools in Virginia, but it was revised to become the Higher Education Reform Bill.

The bill would offer graduated autonomy to universities with a three-tier approach. All universities in Virginia would qualify for the first tier, which would offer slightly more autonomy than offered now.

Some universities, such as JMU, would qualify for the second tier. A vote from the Board of Visitors would allow a university to enter the second tier, and it would allow the school to operate certain areas without state support.

"The university has not yet formulated its position on the legislation," said Andy Perrine, university spokesman. "The bills were amended so much as they went through the process that they bear almost no resemblance to what was originally proposed. So we are still assessing what the legislation means for Madison."

The state can still have the final say, Culligan said.

Universities in the third tier would have to enter a management agreement with the governor’s office, and they would be given much more flexibility than is available now. These schools could negotiate tuition, enrollment and in-state/out-of-state ratios.

No school has qualified for the third tier yet, Student Body President Tom Culligan said.

The idea for the bill began more than a year ago when the University of Virginia, The College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech tried for more autonomy. The third tier resembles the charter system that these schools sought.

The revised bill is similar to that introduced by the three schools, but it will not allow universities to dictate tuition any more than they can now.

Culligan said SGA has been fighting for this revised bill since the issue began. He said many people were looking for alternative proposals to the chartered universities system.

All university presidents were in support of and signed the new bill.

Culligan said that the new bill is more beneficial to JMU for two reasons.

First, universities would be allowed to keep the interest from the money they invest, such as tuition.

Second, each university would negotiate and sign a six-year contract of accountability with the governor’s office. The contract would set up specific goals that must be obtained by a certain time, and predict the tuition for each year.