Category | News

‘No-frills’ college plan intrigues many

Published on March 3, 2009 by The Sentinel

A private university in New Hampshire is offering students a “no-frills” option: more than a 50 percent cut in tuition if they take courses at a satellite campus and forgo many amenities.

In New Jersey, Richard Stockton College will allow students to take from 12 to 20 credits for a flat rate.

And elsewhere, some colleges are running three-year degree programs, so students can get through school more quickly and save money, using a model common in Europe.

The idea of less costly or “no-frills” universities – as proposed by Pennsylvania last month – is under discussion and in some cases is playing out in other communities around the country, as the economy worsens and the price tag for higher education continues to rise.

“It’s an idea whose time has come,” said Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a Washington think tank. “Right now, we’re in a recession, and everyone is more cost-conscious than ever. College costs are rising faster than people’s incomes, and this can’t continue.”

The cost of higher education, on average, has increased about 3 percent above inflation annually, Vedder said.

It was the issue of cost that prompted the Pennsylvania State Board of Education last month in a report to suggest that the state consider establishing “no-frills” schools.

While details have not been worked out, the proposal generally calls for the colleges to offer an accelerated year-round program for bachelor’s degrees that focus on education. They could operate much as a four-year version of a community college and would forgo sports teams, extracurriculars, super gymnasiums, plum dorms, and other amenities.

“We’ve gotten lots of positive comments from students and families, and we’ve also gotten calls from other states about it,” said Jim Buckheit, executive director of the State Board of Education. “It’s certainly an idea that has touched a nerve.”

College affordability recently was rated among the five most important issues for state legislators, according to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.

Some critics of rising costs have described a race of sorts in which schools are vying for top students by offering the biggest and best of everything. Even some state schools have joined in. Colleges in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are replacing traditional dorms with apartment-style living spaces.

Vance Fried, an entrepreneurship professor at Oklahoma State University, released a report last summer on how a university could offer students an “Ivy” education for $7,376 a year – far less than the $35,000-plus annual tuition at some high-end private schools, and about half what it costs at some state-related institutions.

Fancy gymnasiums, an endless list of electives, universally small classes, and expensive research are out under the approach detailed in Fried’s report.

But others defend their price tags and say parents want their children to have a full-fledged education with socialization and growth.

Rick DiFeliciantonio, vice president for enrollment at Ursinus College, where tuition, fees, and room and board top $45,000 annually, said the college had no plans to offer a no-frills version, and he warned of the potential pitfalls.

“There’s not such a fine line between offering no-frills discounted programs and eating into the very heart of what a residential liberal-arts institution like Ursinus is fundamentally trying to accomplish,” he said. Spending time with classmates and faculty, sharing what has been learned, is as important as studying the great texts, he added.

Even Vedder acknowledged that most people don’t want a no-frills university.

At Southern New Hampshire University, 37 students at two satellite campuses are enrolled in the new discount program this year.

They pay $10,000 in tuition and fees annually to attend modest branch campuses with few amenities, but still have small classes of 15 to 18 and programs taught by some of the same professors who work on the main campus.

In contrast, tuition and fees on the main campus are $25,000 plus $10,000 for room and board. There, they have access to a first-rate gym with Olympic-size pool and rotating climbing wall, and soon will be able to dine at a $14 million food court.

The college’s new discount rate offers balance, said president Paul LeBlanc. And that’s good, he said, because many parents want a first-rate dining hall, though he wouldn’t argue for a minute that it improves education.

“The very same families that will complain to me about the high cost of tuition,” he said, “will also say to me, ‘Hey, why does your dining hall look like a high school cafeteria?’”

The program is available only for the first two years; as juniors and seniors, students must go to the main campus for higher-level courses.

Stockton College last week announced a flat-rate tuition policy that would allow students to take from 12 to 20 credits for the same price.

“In today’s economic climate, it makes good financial sense for students to graduate in the shortest time frame possible,” president Herman J. Saatkamp said.

Vedder, of the affordability center, said more students also might make lower-cost decisions, such as commuting rather than living on campus.

La Salle University is expecting more commuter students next year. It saw an 11 percent uptick in local applicants and a 5 percent decrease from outside.

The University of Delaware noted a change this semester.

“We’ve seen a slight increase in students asking to move off campus and producing paperwork that it’s because their parents lost their jobs,” said spokeswoman Andrea Doyle.