Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 31, 1992 TAG: 9203310404
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JERRY M. BOONE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Unfortunately, Hood's president and board chairman apparently saw the decision as an opportunity to garner some favorable publicity for their college and collaborated on a commentary calling for all other private colleges to follow Hood's lead.
"We believe it is time," they wrote, "to stop - or at least slow - the upward climb of college tuitions and take a long, thoughtful look at ways private colleges can offer a more affordable education without sacrificing quality."
The implication is that private colleges, in general, increase tuition, room and board by choice, rather than by necessity, and that Hood College has courageously stood its ground and decided to "just say no" to price increases.
The danger of such an implication is that readers who know little about private colleges and assume that "private" means "wealthy" - and there are many who make this incorrect assumption - will have the wrong impression that private colleges are priced unrealistically high and, therefore, out of the average student's financial reach.
That impression is wrong, and could do great damage to private higher education. The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities has published data which confirm that of the 1,600 independent institutions in the United States, twice as many have tuition and fees (not including room and board) of less than $6,000 as have tuition and fees of more than $12,000.
The fact is that an increasingly competitive market coupled with a lengthy recession has forced independent, private colleges to be more sensitive than ever to students' concerns about costs. As a result, decisions to increase tuition, room and board usually are reached only after the most intense scrutiny and are held to the least amount necessary to maintain a quality of educational program.
At Ferrum College, as at many other independent colleges in Virginia and elsewhere, we are painstakingly cost-conscious and do everything within our power to give our students the most value for their tuition dollar. We continue to take steps which result in "significant cost-cutting," but we are not "running in the red," as the Hood article suggests is the lot of many private colleges today. As the various costs involved in operating a quality independent college increase, we must respond by finding more dollars with which to operate. One source of such revenue is tuition, room and board.
The Hood officials' commentary asks whether private colleges can look elsewhere - the private sector, businesses, etc. - for additional funding. At Ferrum those avenues are constantly being explored, and will continue to be.
Our colleagues at Hood College should be pleased that they will be able to freeze tuition, room and board for the 1992-93 academic year. However, in their zeal to make the most of their decision, they have done a disservice to private higher education by suggesting that many independent colleges do not necessarily have to charge as much as they do.
The fact is, none of the private independent colleges in Virginia charge as much as does Hood. An example: In 1991, it cost $17,753 to attend Hood College, while it cost $10,800 to attend Ferrum College.
It is true that private, independent colleges and universities must work hard to control "the upward climb of college tuitions . . . ." We must also, however, be very careful not to create inaccurate and damaging impressions of private education collectively as we attempt to promote ourselves individually.
Jerry M. Boone is president of Ferrum College in Ferrum.
by CNB