For Immediate Release: September 9, 2003

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) announces the release of Free the Universities: Reforming Higher Education to Keep Pace with the Information Age. Authors Ryan Amacher and Roger Meiners, both professors at the University of Texas at Arlington, address the need for solid reform within the current system.

“While college education continues to grow ever-more important, the inability of many institutions to change with the times, especially the public universities, means they may lose a share of the information market that could be theirs,” said Amacher. “Private universities, not reliant on the public purse to stay in business, are more likely to adapt to new technologies and respond to market needs than are state colleges.”

Free the Universities provides a compelling case for why many institutions are not performing at a capacity that is competitive in today’s market.

“Universities of all types lack the kind of financial measures that organizations in the private sector rely upon to drive decisions,” said Meiners. “For this reason there is no bottom line or profit measure to compare performance from year to year.”

Free the Universities addresses a multitude of issues including tenure, the role of college trustees, the challenges facing private vs. public institutions, faculty quality, and the need for incentives to drive accountability and reform.

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About PRI
For more than two decades, the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI) has championed individual liberty through free markets. PRI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and personal responsibility.