Hard Times from the Economic Downturn

Subtitled, "Tuitions rise, services cut, as university officials try to ride out a severe economic downturn," this essay by Jon Marcus takes a look at financial decision making in presidents' offices:

Inevitably, however, changes that are more dramatic than hiring freezes and journal cancellations will eventually become necessary, said Golding. "We are doing those things first because we have to deal with the immediate problem that's facing us, and then we can step back and look to see where there are opportunities for such things as programs we want to get out of because they don't define the institutions. And that takes time." Besides, he said, just cutting a program may not save much money: "If you have a tenured professor, you still have to deal with that obligation." And some programs generate revenue. Breneman, in his role as an administrator during the 2001 recession, proposed eliminating a master's program in his department in order to cut costs, only to find out that it had more full-tuition-paying students enrolled in it and was making money for the university.