By Jenna A. Robinson
On most news days, the rising cost of college seems to be a problem without any viable solution. The liberal proposal to make college “free” to students would simply shift the cost to taxpayers. And the free-market solution—to get government out of the business of student loans altogether—is a pipe dream in the current political climate.
Fortunately, there is a solution that colleges around the country are beginning to explore—cutting costs.
A few examples from the article include:
Cincinnati University and Ohio State University (both part of Ohio’s university system) have cut costs through a combination of smarter spending and administrative cuts. At Cincinnati University, the president turned down a salary increase and bonus pay, and the school sold its presidential residence. Ohio State University, under the leadership of former president E. Gordon Gee, saved $95 million by switching to common vendors for office supplies and creating a common expense report. An impressive feat, slightly overshadowed by Gee’s equally impressive $2 million a year compensation package.
In today’s article for the Pope Center, Stephanie Keaveney examines a few of the cost-cutting methods that have been tried so far. She finds that colleges have imposed both large and small changes to save students and taxpayers millions of dollars a year.
The good news is that, “Cost cutting isn’t rocket science.” It can be done—and schools all over the country are proving that it has real impacts on students and colleges’ financial futures.
Read the whole article here.
Jenna Robinson is president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.
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