@PurpleTitan “@Much2learn, states may not want to fund their publics, but that doesn’t mean that they want to give up control if their publics.”
That is completely true. However, the long run impact is that the schools are damaged. If states can’t afford to fund them, then states need to allow the U’s the flexibility to do the things required to generate funds, and maintain a high-quality student body in the long run.
The current approach is a series of reactive cuts and bandaids that prevent the schools from planning for the future because future funding is unknown and they remain overly constrained by the bureaucracy.
I think a planned phase-out of state funding over say 10-20 years, with a concomitant phase-out of state requirements would be better for everyone in the long-run. The states can deal with their budget realities, without slowly destroying great universities in the process.
The states would still control their directionals, most of whom probably do not have the resources to transition to private schools.