Roe, R. David

English

Furman University

Furman MagazineVolume 44Issue 1 Spring 2001 Article 224-1-2001Author addresses reasons behind rising collegecostsR. David RoeFurman UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/furman-magazineThis Article is made available online by Journals, part of the Furman University Scholar Exchange (FUSE). It has been accepted for inclusion in FurmanMagazine by an authorized FUSE administrator. For terms of use, please refer to the FUSE Institutional Repository Guidelines. For more information,please contact scholarexchange@furman.edu.Recommended CitationRoe, R. David (2001) "Author addresses reasons behind rising college costs," Furman Magazine: Vol. 44 : Iss. 1 , Article 22.Available at: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/furman-magazine/vol44/iss1/22Music's mammoth undertaking: Hector Berl ioz's Requiem The grand and glorious history of music at Furman reached a high note on the evening of May 5, when approximately 500 vocalists and instrumentalists gathered in Timmons A rena to perform Hector Berlioz's monu­mental Requiem. U nder the baton of Bingham Vick, Jr. ,  the Furman Singers, Ch orale and Symphony Orchestra joined forces with th e Greenvi l le Symphony, Greenvil le Chorale and students from the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities to present th e mammoth work, wh ich was hai led as the major arts event of the year in South Carol ina. Because it requires so many performers and such a large performing space, Berlioz's Requiem is rarely heard. In this concert, the orchestra was vastly oversized, with 1 2  horns rather than the usual four, eight bassoons rather than th e usual two, and 1 6  t impani rather than four at the most. The chorus featured more than 300 vocalists to match the sound of th e orchestra and the four brass ensembles that accompanied the piece. (A large combined orchestra and chorus typically includes about 250 musicians.) Berl ioz was asked to compose the Requiem i n  1 837 as a memorial to French soldiers kil led during the July Revolution of 1 830. After bu reaucratic delays, it was fi rst performed on December 5, 1 837, in  Paris. Inspired by the grandeur of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Berlioz envisioned a composition that would musically express the spl endor of Mich elangelo's fresco of the Last Judgment. Berl ioz was considered a radical musician during his day. Many of his works reflect his wild emotional swings and often break the standard rules of orchestration. His f i rst public tri umph came in  1 830 with the dramatic Symphonie Fantastique. Author addresses reasons behind rising college costs Even though college tuition increased faster than inflation for most of the 20th century, few people seemed concerned because the growth rate in median family income matched the rate at which tuition increased. However, while family income began to level off in the early 1 980s, tuition kept increasing, and for the last 20 years the ratio of tuition to median family income has risen sharply. Why this change? Ronald G. Ehrenberg, an economics professor at Cornell University and author of Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much, which examines why costs continue to rise at selective private institutions, addressed this issue and others during the Marsh & McLennan American Enterprise Lecture at Furman March 20. Ehrenberg pointed out that tuition costs are affected by a number of factors, beginning with an "arms race of spending." Research, he said, shows that attending a top-quality school pays off in higher l ifetime earnings. People want to buy the best and tend to believe that cost equals quality, so colleges know they can raise prices without losing applicants. Among the other factors Ehrenberg cited: • The nature of university governance makes controll ing costs difficult. Faculty won 't accept pay cuts, even though their productivity does not rise as fast as that in the manufacturing or service sectors, and trustees are unwilling to push for cost reduction because they are usual ly selected for their wealth rather than for their devotion to economic efficiency. • Pell  grants and other federal programs have decreased in  real value. Additionally, the decrease in the indirect cost rates of government grants (which means the additional dollars going to the college as "overhead") impl ies that the lost monies must be made up somewhere, namely tuition. • To avoid alienating alumni, who represent every possible interest group, universities are reluctant to scale back programs. The concern, Ehrenberg said, is that disgruntled alumni could convince other alumni not to contribute. • The drive for recognition in publications that rank colleges, such as U.S. News & World Report, often affects colleges' decisions. For example, spending per student is one of the variables in calculating the rankings. To improve their standing, colleges increase spending, and to finance the extra spending, they raise tuition. Why should anyone who isn't  paying for a student's college education care about these issues? Ehrenberg argues that tax dollars grant private selective colleges an enormous subsidy. He points out that contributions to colleges are tax-deductible; endowment eamings are not taxed; universities do not pay property taxes; and colleges borrow at tax-exempt interest rates. Therefore, to finance any given level of government services, the non-college taxpayers must pay more than they otherwise would. So when tuition rises faster than median family income, the burden doesn 't  fal l  solely on famil ies with students in college. Ehrenberg concluded that trustees could be key players in any effort to hold down costs, because the incentives for faculty and administrators to do so are minimal. He also suggested that colleges share resources, both academic and nonacademic, while also focusing more on diversifying revenue sources through such activities as evening programs, weekend certificate education and distance learning. - R. David Roe Prof'essor of Economics/Business Administration 29 

Author addresses reasons behind rising college costs

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Author addresses reasons behind rising college costs

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