President of Florida Atlantic University whines about schools invading his turf

FAU president seeks state help over turf wars

 

So invade back, you crybaby! This one was funny.

 

I'm all in favor of competition. Since I work for a private instituion we certainly face this every day. There is one aspect, however, in which I might buy into this fellow's perspective.

Public universities offer students an education for a price that nearly always below their cost of operation. The difference is covered by the state legislature in the form of subsidies.

When it comes to state universities, the idea of rationing or rationalizing the offerings of public institutions makes sense. Tax payers probably end up footing the bill for overlapping offerings. While students may benefit from having choices - too many choices can get pretty expensive, with little benefit. Throw in the fact that southern Florida has lots of private school and I think that the Florida state schools may want to sit down and figure out a reasonable solution.

Regards - Andy