Arizona Republic:  “Arizona’s state universities are on a fast track to making some of their professional schools financially self-sufficient, an unprecedented shift that would mean higher tuition to cover the loss of state funds for operations.  Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is the first school slated to convert to the new model, a kind of privatization.”  The reporter makes this incredible statement in the story, which presumably is the thinking of the ASU elites who are pushing to dump the law school:

“By breaking off one or more self-sustaining arms, the universities can maintain or improve the quality of those schools. Plus, they would free up state money to benefit other programs.”

Earth to the idiots pushing to privatize the ASU law school:  IT IS A PROFIT CENTER THAT MAKES MONEY FOR THE UNIVERSITY.  IT IS NOT A MONEY PIT!  Here’s the tuition and fees for ASU’s law school for the 2010-11 school year:  residents: $21,598 and nonresidents: $35,147.  ASU law plans to admit 193 students for the upcoming school year.  If we assume that the total enrollment is 193 x 3 = 579 and two thirds (386) are in state and the rest (193) are nonresidents, then total tuition for 2010-2011 would be (386 x $21,598) + (193 x $35,147) = $15,120,199.  Considering that the school doesn’t have to pay rent, that’s a lot of extra cheese that ASU can siphon off to use for its undergrads who are paying a mere $7,793 resident tuition for the 2010 – 2011 school year.

Here is a simple test for the ASU elites that want ASU to dump its law school:

1.  Which student generates more money for ASU:  a law student or an undergraduate student?  Hint – see above.

2.  Is it better for ASU to make more money or less money per student?

3. If money is all that matters, why not sell the entire ASU undergrad college to the University of Phoenix and keep the graduate schools that charge high tuition?

4.  Have you lost your minds?