Moody's: State Controls Limit Options for Higher Ed - Inside Higher Ed

Public universities under strong control from their state legislatures and governing systems are having a more difficult time responding to the financial pressures on public higher education, according to a new report from Moody's. State governments can control decisions as wide ranging as tuition rates to faculty pay levels to procurement, despite the fact that many legislatures with such policies have also dramatically dropped their funding levels. A recent credit outlook report from Moody's says such an environment prevents "leaders from taking decisive actions to address economic and market challenges," and can weaken a college's financial standing in an era of economic difficulty for higher education (last year, 20 percent of Moody’s rated public universities saw a decline in revenue). https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/05/18/moodys-state-controls-limit-options-higher-ed