‘Frill-Less’ Campuses Shave Thousands Off College Tuition
At a time when parents and students are finding it increasingly
challenging to get the money they need for college, some schools are
coming up with creative options to cut thousands of dollars off
annual tuition bills, The Boston Globe reports (“Students Forgo
Frills to Save Thousands,” Feb. 3, 2009).
Offering savings of up to approximately $10,000 to $15,000 annually,
these colleges are gambling that parents and students — worried
about layoffs, getting student loans for college, and an unstable
economy — will go for these less-expensive satellite campuses that
forgo the traditional college campus amenities of lavish food
courts, fitness centers, and dorms.
Students Find Value In Commuter Education
Twenty miles south of its main campus in Manchester, Southern New
Hampshire University has established a no-frills sister campus in
Salem, New Hampshire.
Freshmen and sophomore students attend classes taught by some of the
same professors found on the Manchester campus and study subjects as
diverse as Greek tragedy, the Roman Empire, and business statistics.
The school believes that many students will be willing to pay
considerably less, $10,000 as opposed to $25,000 in tuition, for the
same quality of education that students receive on its main campus.
Daniel Webster College, another small private school located in
Nashua, New Hampshire, intends to extend a comparable tuition break
for freshmen students who live at home and commute to the main
campus — $15,000 a year in tuition versus $26,000 for those students
who live on campus.
And in Pennsylvania, the public university system is contemplating
whether to move forward with plans to create four-year colleges
without dorms, athletics, or extracurricular activities in order to
lower the price of a bachelor’s degree.
Cheaper Model as Effective?
While many parents may relish the savings that these new frill-less
colleges represent, other people question whether the less
expensive, commuter-based model of higher education is as effective
as the traditional campus-based model, the Globe reports. Research
indicates that those who live on campus are, on average, more likely
to graduate on time, get better grades, and be happier in college.
However, Richard Ekman, president of The Council of Independent
Colleges says, “A no-frills approach is better than nothing, but
it’s very difficult to achieve the same thing as having a total
educational experience that comes with living on campus.”