DaytonDailyNews.com

If ever there was so much happening to Ohio colleges all at once, nobody who's alive today can remember it. To their credit, Gov. Ted Strickland and Chancellor Eric Fingerhut are upending everything.

Their marching orders are that going to college can and has to be affordable, and that Ohio will increase the number of its college graduates. Make no mistake about it: This is a new mind set.

Though colleges complain bitterly about having tuition caps imposed on them now and again, most have not really been forced to worry about their affordability. If they had, average tuition rates in the state wouldn't have been going up 9 percent a year for a decade.

Meanwhile, attracting students and keeping them here has not been something colleges have seen as their responsibility. It's not their fault, the explanation goes, that Ohio doesn't have beaches or the good jobs that so many young people want.

The governor's and Mr. Fingerhut's new expectations demand that colleges must do more than just educate students. Specifically, the schools' job descriptions are being rewritten to insist that they also will be engines of economic development.

If you're running a business, you can't very well not pay attention to the costs that your "customers" pay. And you're not going to stay in business long if you complain that the task you've been given is simply impossible.

College administrators have always tried to tell politicians and the public that their schools' value consists of more than just the diplomas they hand out. Their faculty attract companies to locate nearby, their research creates jobs, their students are more likely to stay in the state after college.

Now these things — and more — are going to be measured, tracked and rewarded.

In a new 10-year strategic plan, Mr. Fingerhut has laid out how he hopes things will work. He is on a mission, and, thankfully, there's mostly agreement about where he wants to go.

Here are some things to take note of:

If you really want an affordable college degree, you'll be able to get it.

In the coming years, students will be able to attend a community college for two years and move directly to a four-year school, with all their credits guaranteed to transfer. At today's rates, that will shave off, on average, $12,000 from the cost of a four-year degree, bringing the bill to around $22,000. That's before financial aid.

Moreover, more four-year colleges will take their programs to community college campuses, negating the need for some students to leave home to get a bachelor's degree.

A "Seniors to Sophomores" program is being developed to allow some seniors to complete their last year of high school on a college campus, thus eliminating one year of college expenses.

The state's money is going to go to those schools that get with the program.

The chancellor wants significant freedom to financially reward universities that specialize and differentiate themselves, with the goal of creating world-class academic programs that can attract world-class students and faculty.

In return for latitude to raise their tuition, schools are going to have to show how they'll make themselves affordable to the needy. Challenge grants also will be created to encourage colleges to increase their endowments and raise money especially for need-based financial aid.

Colleges that get together and consolidate the administration of their endowments — allowing them to pull down bigger returns and lower their investment fees — would be rewarded for their collaboration.

University presidents are not going to be so beloved.

If they want to get money from the state, presidents are going to have to pick winners and losers. They are charged with deciding which of their degree programs are truly excellent, as judged by recognized and verifiable standards, and which are most relevant to the state's economic future.

The idea of colleges being a "marketplace for ideas" just took on new meaning.

Colleges are going to be encouraged to "sell" their curriculum to other schools. In some cases, that will mean expanding the offering of online courses at one school to students attending others. Or maybe one college will develop a course and then turn it over to another — for a fee.

At bottom, this and other initiatives are aimed at fostering collaboration and ending duplication.

Speaking of markets:

Mr. Fingerhut also is proposing that students who sign up for classes in off hours, on the weekends or in summer should get a discount. The goal is to use buildings and expensive equipment more often — and to save money for students who are willing to inconvenience themselves.

For the longest time, Ohio's colleges have felt not only that they have been underappreciated, but that they've been treated shamelessly. Now, however, especially in the legislature, the understanding about their importance to Ohio is changing. Gov. Strickland also gets it that higher education is central to ensuring that Ohio is a player in the knowledge economy.

There are things in Mr. Fingerhut's plan that some colleges will not like. But focusing on them is missing the fact that, finally, Ohio has concrete plans about how its colleges can enrich the lives of Ohioans, while distinguishing themselves and the state.

Vote for this story!