A plan that could free Ohio University from state mandates and potentially create additional scholarships will be presented to the Ohio legislature two months early.
The “Enterprise University” plan was originally to be presented as early as January but should be brought to the Ohio General Assembly in November, President Roderick McDavis said at last night’s Faculty Senate meeting.
“Until all of the details are fully known … I think we have to be cautious,” McDavis said. “We’re still taking some steps of understanding, but I think the fact we’re seeing movement is a good thing.”
When McDavis presented the plan to Faculty Senate last month, the plan only outlined potential for merit-based scholarships and would have put 10 percent of a university’s State Share of Instruction into a state-controlled fund for these scholarships.
The enterprise university plan now encompasses both merit- and need-based scholarships. Although universities would still need to set aside 10 percent of the State Share of Instruction funds for scholarships, the fund would now be under university control rather than that of the state, and the university could raise the same amount through other means, McDavis said.
“This is more in terms of my liking,” McDavis said. OU’s current SSI is about $90 million.
Under the enterprise university plan, OU would need to come up with about $9 million a year for scholarships, said Stephen Golding, vice president for Finance and Administration.
“All of us would like to get students more scholarship money,” McDavis said. “I don’t think there’s any concern with that, but at what cost?”
The mandates that would be lifted if OU became an enterprise university have not been determined, but this could save the university money, McDavis said.
Senators expressed concern about the fact that the particular mandates are not yet listed in the enterprise university bill.
“I have an incredible discomfort that we don’t know what mandates we’re talking about,” College of Fine Arts Senator Duane McDiarmid said. “All I can say is, I encourage them to name names.”
Golding offered one example of a mandate that could be lifted that would allow OU to use more than one contractor in construction projects. Right now, public universities in Ohio must use a single contractor for current projects.
Changing this mandate could potentially save the university millions of dollars, reaching as much as 10 percent in savings for OU, Golding said.
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