Stardate 20020221.2237

(On Screen): Due to the economy being off, colleges are going to raise tuitions substantially next year.

The sometimes striking tuition increases, just now being reported, come after seven years of moderate tuition increases at generally twice the rate of inflation. Colleges are also scaling back on construction and hiring, after a span of flush years when the institutions added buildings, increased faculty sizes and created academic programs.

"Tuition is definitely going to go up at a disproportionately higher rate than we have seen in recent years," said Larry Goldstein, a senior fellow at the National Association of College and University Business Officers. "Tuition rates have been remarkably stable because of the good economy. Now the economic pressure has increased, and they cannot keep tuition growth at this level anymore."

Let me get this straight: rising at twice the inflation rate is "stable"? Sez who?

There's also the question of the wisdom of raising your prices when demand falls. Isn't that the opposite of what their Economics department would suggest you're supposed to do? (I thought these people were supposed to be experts.)

"An economic downturn negatively affects every other university revenue source," said David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. "It affects corporate and foundation giving, earnings from endowments and fund-raising from alumni and friends. Tuition is the one revenue stream over which independent universities have control."

Of course, there's also the idea that you could try to control expenses. You know, lay off useless bodies (like the pomo scholars)? They'd hardly be missed.