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An Ivory Tower of Pricing

Letter Submitted to the Washington Post

November 14, 2007

By Claude Pressnell Jr.

President
Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association - www.ticua.org
(For more information, contact: Susanna Baxter, chief operating officer, 615-242-6400, baxter@ticua.org)

To the Editor:

Steven Pearlstein rightly observes that the demand for greater services, better faculty, and state-of-art facilities all contribute to tuition increases that outpace the Consumer Price Index ("An Ivory Tower of Pricing," Nov. 14).  Where Mr. Pearlstein misses the point is by assuming that colleges and universities are not concerned about better controlling rising costs and lack motivation to improve productivity. 

The 37 private colleges and universities in Tennessee are an example of how more campuses nationwide are revamping their business practices to press costs down and improve administrative efficiency through various collaborative projects-without sacrificing the quality of education and access for low- and middle-income students.

Our schools are working together to leverage their combined purchasing strength to control skyrocketing health care costs, while improving benefits for our current and retired employees.  We are reducing inefficiency in back office operations through a procurement card program.  This has given us flexibility in our workforce, allowing scarce resources and staff time to be allocated where and when they are needed in critical areas. 

Our consortial activities have recently been taken nationwide through the Coalition for College Cost Savings.  Private colleges in 11 states are working jointly through this unprecedented effort to develop, implement, and expand cost containment strategies.

All of this, and much more, is helping to reduce the pressure on our institutions to raise tuition at a faster pace.  As a result, the rate of tuition growth at private colleges over the past five years is at its lowest level since 1982, according to the College Board.

The concerns families have about paying for college is very real.  Also real is private higher education's recognition of their worries, and the cost-cutting initiatives we are undertaking to address it.