THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 22, 1996 TAG: 9601190027
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Old Dominion University has been a pioneer in restructuring the way it does business, under the leadership of President James Koch. To do even more, ODU and Virginia's other public colleges need more freedom of action, less interference from the state. That's why Koch endorses the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education chaired by Sen. John Chichester.
ODU has privatized food service, printing and much of the motor pool. It's creating innovative public/private partnerships. It's collaborating on a satellite campus to serve nontraditional students and in distance learning through Teletechnet. But despite its gigantic potential, ODU is tied down like a Gulliver by thousands of little regulatory threads. And they all lead back to Richmond.
Until authority to act is more fully decentralized, ODU's ability to innovate will be severely limited. The Chichester report calls for a revised administrative approach to free schools ``from stifling bureaucratic regulations.''
Presently, colleges cannot appoint their own board members or take significant initiatives without asking permission of the nannies in Richmond. Not only is this demeaning for men running multimillion-dollar enterprises, but it's cumbersome and expensive.
Obtaining approval for even minor expenses often requires a round trip to Richmond for paperwork. Niggling rules govern construction projects. And it all costs money. Koch believes he could save $2 million a year - or 4 percent of his budget - if the strings that bind him were cut.
That's a high price to pay for unneeded micromanagement from afar, especially at a time when higher education is starved for funds. Multiply it by all the schools in the system and the price becomes outrageous. There's no question that the state must set broad guidelines within which colleges operate, but the present system mummifies the schools in red tape.
The General Assembly must permit the schools to fundamentally restructure. It won't happen until they are freed from Richmond's smothering embrace. Decision-making must be decentralized and power devolved to individual institutions.
That's the kind of reform Republicans in the U.S. Congress and in the Allen administration have been talking about. Here's a chance to put it into practice, to turn rhetoric into reality. The General Assembly should free President Koch and his counterparts by adopting the recommendations of the Chichester Commission. by CNB