Do Campus-Based 'Frills' Have a Future?

Subtitled "In an age of austerity, basic may make a comeback," this nice article by Jeffrey J. Selingo, managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, examines the growing clamor of those suggesting (or calling for) austere, "no-frills" 4-year degree opportunities:

Even as the nation's economy began to sputter early last year, two areas proved resilient to the cutback in Americans' spending: luxury goods and college degrees.

By the end of 2008, however, luxury stores had recorded the greatest decline in sales of any retail-chain category. Will high-priced colleges suffer a similar fate?

The most optimistic college presidents believe they will be spared a drastic enrollment decline next fall. But a growing number have fear in their eyes.

"I'm not convinced this is a two- to three-year disruption," says John A. Fry, president of Franklin & Marshall College, where tuition and fees are $38,630 this year. "There is a real shift here. People are going back to the basics."