BATON ROUGE, La. - Gov. Bobby Jindal is proposing that state lawmakers give up their authority over college tuition and fee increases -- if colleges meet certain performance standards.
Four-year schools would have to increase admission standards and improve graduation rates, while community and technical colleges would have to show improvement in getting students into jobs.
In exchange, schools could raise their tuition and fee costs -- without a vote of the Legislature -- by up to 10 percent a year until they reach the average of similar schools. After that, colleges could hike tuition up to five percent a year or up to the increase in an index that tracks higher education costs around the country.
Jindal announced the proposal Tuesday. Lawmakers will consider it in the legislative session that begins March 29.
