I just got done reading an article written in the New York Times this morning about different ways that colleges and universities are cutting expenses. The article really illustrated to me that there are a lot of unnecessary expenses being created up at college. It’s made me aware of some of the fringe benefits that some teachers and students enjoy up on campus. Not all these cuts were fringe benefits though, there are quite a few things that some colleges have done that really help show how responsible some colleges are becoming with their budgets.
Many of these schools are also involving the students and rewarding them for their contributions in helping the college save money. I would not be surprised if some of these budget improving exercises were thought up by the students themselves. I think these colleges are setting a good example of financial responsibility. If they can eliminate even more expenses maybe in the future this can even help make college more affordable.
Here are some of the ways that these colleges cut their expenses without directly affecting faculty jobs:
- Got rid of unnecessary landlines. $1100/month
- Held virtual athletics events and saved travel expenses. $900 on bus travel
- No new faculty bus tour.
- Less window washing. $22,300/year
- Less sidewalk power washing.
- Weekly trash pickup instead of daily trash pickup.
- Made professors teach 6 classes instead of only 5.
- Cutting back on FREE student laundry service. $150,000/year
- Eliminating FREE ESPN and HBO in student rooms. $75,000/year
- Eliminating one day of new-student orientation. $50,000/year
- Putting a cap on student FREE printing per semester to $50/semester.
- Turning down thermostats.
- Getting rid of trays in the cafeteria. $30,000/semester
- Reducing paper based brochures and directories and moving to digital.
- Low flow shower head.
- Energy-saving light bulbs.
- Holding dorm contest to see who can reduce energy costs by the most.
- Switching from bottled water to tap water. $10,000+
- Rebuilding old computers instead of buying new ones.
- Limiting vehicle purchasing.
- Scheduling more video-conferencing creating less travel.
- Eliminating voicemail systems and equipment now that most students and faculty use cell phones.
- Staffing students in the summer in professional positions to give them work experience while paying them less. $725,000/year
- Hiring students to renovate dorm rooms at minimum wage giving them a summer job.
If all colleges could implement multiple combinations of similar expense cuts, college could become even more affordable. We need to encourage colleges to be smart and follow the examples of these schools.
If you want to read the original article I pulled this information from, it’s titled “For Colleges, Small Cuts Add Up to Big Savings”. It’s a well written article and goes into details on what schools did what and how much they saved. I’d like to thank Tamar Lewin for such a great article.