Push for Autonomy for U. of California Campuses

A proposal released by a research center at the University of California at Berkeley and endorsed by Berkeley leaders on Monday would give individual University of California campuses control over setting their own tuition rates for graduate and out-of-state students, deciding what share of students should come from outside of the state and the ability to decide on construction projects, The Los Angeles Times reported. "The present monolithic structure of governance inadvertently results in lost opportunities for the campuses. The situation calls for many elements of governance to be closer to the local level," says the proposal. While the system's Board of Regents would maintain control over other key issues, the proposal would represent a major shift toward campus autonomy. Campus such as Berkeley, UCLA and the University of California at San Diego -- all major players in research and private fund-raising -- would likely see immediate benefits from such a system, but smaller campuses are expected to raise concerns. Mark G. Yudof, president of the system, said Monday that he could not back the proposal in its current form, but was willing to talk about issues raised by the plan.