Regents to relax rules for public colleges - Elizabeth Gibson, Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State University officials say they have proof that loosening regulations on public universities can pay off. The elimination of some restrictions on how public universities hire contractors contributed to $164.7 million in savings on the school's $1.1 billion medical-center expansion, according to Ohio State. University administrators are hoping to see more such changes once the chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents unveils his plan next month for so-called enterprise universities. Chancellor Jim Petro is to design a program that allows a public university to relinquish some state funding in exchange for more freedom from regulation. The semi-privatization concept, enacted in the recent state budget, also has been referred to as charter universities.