UCLA's Anderson School wants to go private

Instead of relying on a shrinking pool of state funds, the graduate school would raise tuition from $41,000 to more than $50,000, and seek additional private donations. Anderson would remain under UCLA's academic governance and policies. While a first for the UC system, such spinoffs are being done at several other business schools. From the LAT:

Cuts in state funding in recent years and continuing uncertainty about such money are driving the proposal, which must receive approval from UC headquarters and UCLA faculty. The plan's supporters say the status quo is hurting the school's ability to compete with private schools for top business faculty, who are among the most highly paid in academia nationwide. "We've got to change the way we operate if we are to continue being what we are," Anderson's dean, Judy D. Olian, said in an interview. "State support has declined so significantly that we've asked ourselves what is the best model to sustain the excellence of the school and the excellence of what we can do in this region."

It's a good bet that the school would have no trouble lining up additional donors (wealthy alums and Friends of Anderson). One plus about the plan: Money that had been going to Anderson could be diverted to help departments that don't attract as much private fund-raising.