University of Maryland privatises IT department
The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is turning to privatisation in an attempt to monetise its services, enlarge its endowment and keep tuition rates low, according to a report from Inside Higher Ed. In much the same way the UMUC's Office of Analytics became the data analytics company HelioCampus in 2015, the university plans to transform its IT department into a company called AccelerEd. UMUC President Javier Miyares said that the university will retain ownership of its "academic core", which includes the faculty, curriculum and library. The university has suffered a significant decline in enrolment since 2012.
CAMPUS COMPANIES: Tuition revenue has been the University of Maryland University College’s (UMUC) primary funding source for decades—but that might no longer be the case. Now, the university has begun unbundling its offerings in order to “monetize its own services, grow its endowment and keep tuition rates low,” Inside Higher Ed reports.

According to UMUC President Javier Miyares, the school is boiling itself down to its “academic core,” which includes the faculty, curriculum and library. Other services, however, are breaking off to become independent companies. The college’s Office of Analytics, for example, became the data analytics company HelioCampus in 2015. UMUC reportedly has plans to repeat the strategy with its IT department, which will transform into a company called AccelerEd.

Though controversial to skeptics of private interest in higher education, Miyares told Inside Higher Ed that the changes are needed as the school receives only 10 percent of its funding from the state. The university’s decision to spin off some of its services dates back to the sharp enrollment decline the school faced starting around 2012. Since then, its numbers have slowly began creeping back up. Worldwide enrollment for the school's 2016 fiscal year was at 85,122, up from 82,555 in fiscal year 2015.