COLUMBUS — Ohio will get 230,000 more people into college in the next decade by making tuition more affordable, improving the quality of its programs, preventing colleges from competing for students and enabling just about anyone — including high school dropouts and people older than 55 — to go to college, according to a state plan released Monday, March 31.

Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut delivered the 10-year master plan for Ohio's public colleges and universities to Gov. Ted Strickland on Monday morning.

The 140-page plan, which Fingerhut spent nine months developing, details strategies for colleges and universities to increase the educational attainment of Ohioans as a way of boosting Ohio's economy.

It outlines the system's structure for making an associates and bachelor's degree in core fields available to every Ohioan within 30 miles of home.

The plan calls for university to be increasingly efficient. By the end of 2008, four-year institutions will determine with Fingerhut their centers of excellence for differentiating their missions. The move reduces competition for students, but could also result in campuses winnowing some programs to eliminate redundancy.

Institutions' state funding will be dependent on their progress in achieving the state's goals.

The biggest impact for college-bound families will be felt in the pocketbook. While schools will be allowed to set their tuition, that authority is contingent on their ability to offer need-based financial aid to all qualified students.

Plan highlights

Colleges and universities will be receive an annual 20-point report card measuring their progress.

A network of 47 community colleges and branch campuses will enable each school to offer programs from the other schools.

Tuition policy will be tied to the ability of all students to pay the cost of higher education after taking into account federal, state and institutional financial aid.

Increase need-based financial aid by 20 percent through a $1 billion statewide foundation funded by annual state appropriations of $10 million for 10 years. Colleges will be required to contribute. The fund will provide $50 million per year in need-based aid.