In Maryland, St. Mary's University has had more autonomy than any other public institution. In return for greater autonomy, the state has agreed not to provide the same level of state support that it is obligated to provide for other public institutions in Maryland. Not all trends are leading toward greater autonomy, however. With respect to transfers from public community colleges to public four-year institutions, many state legislatures or state coordinating boards are exercising more authority. Florida, Maryland, and Texas have mandated statewide articulation agreements between the two and four-year sectors.
Similar trends are underway in Indiana and other states.
These policies have interesting impacts upon enrollment managers. In some respects, it further complicates the professional lives of enrollment managers. Since the transferability of courses is central to the enrollment decisions of transfer students, such policies probably make it easier for students to transfer and thus help enrollment managers to attract more transfer students. On the other hand, such intervention by state policy makers is always perceived as a threat to faculty governance, and enrollment managers often find themselves in the middle of enacting state policies and of bringing the wrath of faculty governance groups who are unhappy with the decisions. State intervention in the arena of affirmative action is another example of state actions that are reducing the autonomy of institutions and thus affecting the roles and responsibilities of enrollment managers.