12/28/2015

25WaysforCollegestoCutCostsUSNews

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25WaysforCollegestoCutCosts
Frommovingclassesonlinetoreformingstudentaid,collegescan
takeconcretestepstoreducecosts.
ByLynnO'Shaughnessy

Dec.28,2010,at10:00a.m.

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Americancollegesanduniversitiesarecontinuallygettingslammedforcostingtoomuch,but
therearepreciousfewpeoplesuggestingconcretewaystoshrinkthesecosts.
TheCenterforCollegeAffordabilityandProductivity,however,hasproducedawhitepaperthat
laysout"25WaystoReducetheCostofCollege."
Therearesomeexcellentsuggestionsonthecenter'slist.Whatdoyouthinkofthesecost
cuttingideas?
1.Encouragemorestudentstoenrollatcommunitycolleges.Twoyearcollegescostfar
lessthanfouryearschools.
[Readfourthingsyoushouldknowaboutcommunitycollege.]
2.Promotedualdegreeprograms,whichallowhighschoolstudentstotakecollege
courses.TheseprogramsincludeAdvancedPlacementclasses,InternationalBaccalaureate
programs,andcommunitycollegecourses.
3.Reformtenure.Tenureiscostlyandisacrutchfortheprofessorswhoareleastvalued.
4.Offerthreeyearbachelor'sdegrees,whicharecommoninEurope.
5.Outsourceservicessuchashealthcenters,buildingmaintenance,andrecreation
centers.
6.Reduceadministrativestaff.Someschoolshavemoreadministrativestaffthanfaculty.
Bloatedadministrativestaffsareexpensiveandcontributetostodgydecisionmaking.
7.Cutunnecessaryprograms.
8.Endtheathleticarmsrace.Fewerthan20collegiateathleticprogramsinthiscountrymake
money,whilemanyschoolslose$10millionormoreintheirsportsoperations.
9.Overhaulthefederalfinancialaidform.TheFreeApplicationforFederalStudentAid
(FAFSA),whichasksmorethan100questions,needsfurtherreform.
10.Eliminateexcessiveacademicresearch.Oneexample:Academicshavewrittenmore
than26,000articlesonShakespearesince1980.Teachingcostsrisewhenprofessorsspend
aninordinatetimeonmarginalresearch.
11.Streamlineprograms.Statescannolongeraffordempirebuilding,particularlyatthe
graduatelevel.Tennessee,forinstance,maintained24doctoralprogramsin2009withfewer
thanthreegraduates.
12.Promotecollaborativepurchasing.Collegesshouldbandtogethertoincreasetheir
bargainingpowerwithsuppliers.
13.Makebetteruseoffacilities.Schoolsshouldexplorerentingfacilitiesmaybeevento
departmentsandutilizingspaceduringoffhours.
14.Increaseteachingloads.Between1988and2004,facultyteachingloadsatresearch
universitiesdropped42percent.
15.Encouragetimelycompletionofdegrees.Moststudentsdon'tgraduateinfouryears,
andthedropoutrateisanationalscandal.
16.Movemoreclassesonline.Themostlogicalclassesforonlineinstructionarelarge

introductorycourses.
Getinstantonlineaccesstofullcollegerankingsandcompleteschooldata.
[Seehowonlineeducationoffersaccessandaffordability.]

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17.Reducetextbookcosts.Bookrentalsandelectronicversionsofbookscanhelp.
18.Downsizeacademiclibraries.Dowereallyneedtowarehousebooksinmassivelibraries
whentheycanbedigitized?

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19.OutsourceEmailservices.TechnologycompanieslikeGoogleandMicrosoftcan
undercutthecostsofinhousecampusEmail.
20.Usenewteachingmethods.Increaseonlineinstructionandincorporatemoretechnology
intotraditionalclassrooms.
21.Maketransferringcreditseasier.Seamlesstransfersbetweencollegescanmakeschools
morecompetitiveandreducedropoutrates.
22.Reformstudentaid.Thestudentaidsystemisconfusing,inefficient,andfrequently
doesn'tdirectaidtothosewhoneeditmost.
[Getadviceonhowtopayforcollege.]
23.Reformaccreditation.Accreditationofschoolsmayneedtobereplacedbytransparency
ofthequalityorlackofqualityatindividualinstitutions.
24.Subsidizestudentsnotschools.Ratherthanstateandfederalgovernmentssubsidizing
universities,givethesubsidytostudentsintheformofvouchers.Thiswouldmakeschools
morecostconscienceandprodinstitutionsintobecomingstudentcentered.
25.Promotecompetitionbasedonvaluenotreputation.Collegeshaveanincentiveto
spendmorebecausereputationisafactorincollegerankings.Makingstudentoutcomes
knowncouldreducetheoverdependenceonrankingsandalsoputabrakeoncosts.

TAGS:payingforcollege,students,financialaid,communitycolleges,colleges,academics

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